CA2271347A1 - Integrated device for use in shoveling, transporting and dumping - Google Patents
Integrated device for use in shoveling, transporting and dumping Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2271347A1 CA2271347A1 CA 2271347 CA2271347A CA2271347A1 CA 2271347 A1 CA2271347 A1 CA 2271347A1 CA 2271347 CA2271347 CA 2271347 CA 2271347 A CA2271347 A CA 2271347A CA 2271347 A1 CA2271347 A1 CA 2271347A1
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- Prior art keywords
- handle bar
- bar assembly
- bucket
- shovelling
- transporting
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- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
- E02F—DREDGING; SOIL-SHIFTING
- E02F3/00—Dredgers; Soil-shifting machines
- E02F3/02—Dredgers; Soil-shifting machines hand-operated ; handheld soil shifting equipment acting by sucking E02F3/8891
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62B—HAND-PROPELLED VEHICLES, e.g. HAND CARTS OR PERAMBULATORS; SLEDGES
- B62B1/00—Hand carts having only one axis carrying one or more transport wheels; Equipment therefor
- B62B1/10—Hand carts having only one axis carrying one or more transport wheels; Equipment therefor in which the load is intended to be transferred totally to the wheels
- B62B1/14—Hand carts having only one axis carrying one or more transport wheels; Equipment therefor in which the load is intended to be transferred totally to the wheels involving means for grappling or securing in place objects to be carried; Loading or unloading equipment
- B62B1/147—Hand carts having only one axis carrying one or more transport wheels; Equipment therefor in which the load is intended to be transferred totally to the wheels involving means for grappling or securing in place objects to be carried; Loading or unloading equipment the load support being in the form of a scoop
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
- Civil Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Structural Engineering (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- Transportation (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Handcart (AREA)
Abstract
A manually operated device for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material, comprises a pair of ground-engaging wheels rotatively mounted on an axle. A bucket is pivotally mounted on the axle. A handle bar assembly is also pivotally mounted on the axle between a first shovelling position and a second transporting and/or dumping position angularly spaced apart from the first position. A handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism is interposed between the handle bar assembly and the bucket for (a) locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first position, (b) releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position, (c) locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the second position, and ( d) releasing the handle bar assembly from the second position. The handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises first and second transversally spaced apart frame members, and a transversal elongated member interconnects these frame members. A method for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material using the manually operated device comprises locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first shovelling position, manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly and the transversal elongated member to shovel bulk material at a shovelling location, releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position, pivoting the handle bar assembly toward the second position, locking the handle bar assembly to the bucket in the second transporting and/or dumping position, manually operating the shovelling, transporting and dumping device through the handle bar assembly and the transversal elongated member to transport bulk material contained in the bucket from the shovelling location to a discharge location, and manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly and the transversal elongated member in order to dump at the discharge location the bulk material contained in the bucket.
Description
INTEGRATED DEVICE AND METHOD FOR USE IN SHOVELLING, TRANSPORTING AND DUMPING
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the invention:
The present invention generally relates to tools and methods for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping various materials, and more particularly, to such a device in the form of a single piece of equipment with which all of these actions may be performed and to a method for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material using such a device.
Brief description of the prior art:
It is known in the prior art to use a shovel to shovel various materials such as earth, rocks, sand, etc. into a wheelbarrow for transportation purpose, particularly for domestic uses or small jobs. The wheelbarrow is usually an open container mounted on a frame having at least one wheel.
Handles are provided on opposite sides from at least one wheel to lift the frame, and push or pull the wheelbarrow to a desired location.
However, this system has the following drawback: personal injury may result from poor posture when handling the material with the shovel.
Furthermore, a wheelbarrow can be unevenly loaded or unbalanced during transportation, which may result in the content being spilled when pushing or pulling it.
The use of the shovel is inefficient, as the shovel typically will not carry a large load. When dealing with large projects, a back-hoe can be used to dig a hole, or a tractor equipped with a front loading bucket may be used to shovel snow, earth, rocks, etc. from a mound. However, the use of a back-hoe or a tractor for intermediate size works such as domestic uses may be inappropriate, due to the expense and the limited space available for the tractor or the back-hoe to manoeuvre and the damages caused to the ground.
Besides the traditional shovel and wheelbarrow, a few devices of the prior art addressing the problem of manually handling bulk material are worth mentioning.
US patent No 2,852,304 (Harrisson) issued on September 16, 1958 describes a single wheel dumping wheelbarrow where the bucket can be tilted upwardly and forwardly to dump its content by bringing the handles closer to each other rather than by lifting them. A scissors lifting device installed between the bottom of the bucket and the frame converts the horizontal displacement of the handles to perform the desired lifting and tilting action.
Obviously, although such a device may provide some added stability during dumping and somehow reduce the force applied by the user, it still requires the wheelbarrow to be filled using a shovel in the conventional way.
US patent No 2,234,879 (Shoesmith) issued on March 11, 1941 teaches a single wheel handcart provided with a triangular profile bucket for transporting and dumping bulk material. That device is characterized by the fact that the bucket is suspended over the chassis by two pivots located on opposite sides of the bucket, at such a level that the centre of gravity of the filled bucket is always below the axis connecting the pivots. This arrangement allows the bucket to remain substantially in the same orientation regardless of the position adopted by the handles and the chassis during loading and transportation, the centre of gravity of the bucket tending naturally to remain in vertical alignment with the pivot axis. A lever connected to the lower portion of the bucket through a pair of links can be operated to tilt the bucket forwardly and dump the material.
Again, such a device features very limited advantages, as compared to a common wheelbarrow.
The two wheeled self-dumping wheelbarrow disclosed in US
patent No 2,766,063 (Greeley) issued on October 9, 1956 uses two widely spaced apart wheels and a low centre of gravity for added stability and limited risks of spillage. This device comprises a triangular profile bucket pivoting about its apex axis. In the loading position, the bucket is prevented from pivoting since it is attached to the frame through a hook. Once the bucket has been filled with material, the handles can be pulled while blocking the wheel axle to pivot the frame backwardly about that axis and roll the wheel barrow to the dumping location. Pulling a lever while the handles and the frame are tilted in the transport position pulls the hook, thus unlocking the bucket and causing it to tilt forwardly and downwardly dumping its content. In the loading position, that device, in the preferred embodiment thereof, has the bottom surface of its bucket lying flat on the ground and its frame terminated by the handle bars extending substantially upright. While that ground-engaging position of the bucket is intended for picking up a load from the ground, it shall be deemed that bulk material can not be shovelled by the device itself since the vertical position of the handle bars do not allow the user to apply the necessary horizontal force on the bucket to engage it with the material in order to be filled.
Although the latter devices of the prior art could bring some benefits in transporting and dumping bulk material, none of them provides a shovelling function, as for instance a pay-loader or back-hoe does.
More recently, a snow float as schematically illustrated in Figure 1 has been available on the market for snow shovelling. This device comprises a relatively large bucket with a triangular profile rigidly assembled to a fixed U-shaped handle bar and can be dragged on a slippery snowy ground surface by pushing or pulling the handle bar. In operation, a user may push on the handle to drag the bucket with the leading edge of its bottom surface scraping the snowy ground, thus filling the bucket with snow. The apparatus can then by appropriate pushing and pulling of the handle bar be used to transport the snow load to a discharge location. Dumping the snow at the discharge location requires the bucket to be tilted forwardly by lifting and tilting the handle bar used as a lever.
Although the latter device is relatively advantageous for snow shovelling, it could obviously not be used for handling heavier bulk material such as earth, rocks or sand on a dry ground. For such applications, wheels, a sturdier structure and a variable position of the handle for optimal leverage effect in every operation are necessary.
There is thus a need for an improved device allowing a user to efficiently shovel, transport and dump fairly large volumes of heavy bulk material without the need for additional tools and with minimal risks of personal injuries.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material which overcomes the limitations and drawbacks of the above mentioned solutions of the prior art, and more specifically:
- a first object of the instant invention is to provide an integrated device for 5 transporting and dumping bulk material such as earth, rocks, sand, snow etc.
that can be used to shovel material and load itself without the need for any other tool;
- a second object of the present invention is to provide an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material featuring a very high degree of stability, practically eliminating any risk of inadvertently spilling the material to be transported;
- a third object of the present invention is to provide an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material that can be used with a wide selection of materials and operated on miscellaneous types of grounds, dry or wet;
- a fourth object of the present invention is to provide an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material which has a sturdy structure and enables a user to handle heavy loads and accomplish large projects alone;
- a fifth object of the present invention is to provide an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material that is safe to operate, more efficient than existing manual equipments and tools with respect to the time and energy spent to complete a job, and causes less fatigue and risks of personal injury for a given job than existing methods;
- another object of the instant invention is to provide an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material that is compact, economical, takes little space for manoeuvring, creates no environmental pollution in operation and uses no energy but human power; and - a further object of the present invention is to provide a new and very efficient method for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
More specifically, in accordance with the invention as broadly claimed, there is provided a manually operated device for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material, comprising ground-engaging means on which the shovelling, transporting and dumping manually operated device is displaced on the ground, a bucket pivotally mounted on the ground-engaging means, a handle bar assembly pivotally connected to the bucket between a first shovelling position and a second transporting and/or dumping position angularly spaced apart from the first position, a handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism interposed between the handle bar assembly and the bucket. This handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises means for locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first position for performing a shovelling operation, means for releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position, means for locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the second position to perform a transporting and/or dumping operation, and means for releasing the handle bar assembly from the second position.
The present invention is also concerned with a manually operated device for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material, comprising:
a set of ground-engaging members on which the shovelling, transporting and dumping manually operated device is displaced on the ground;
a bucket pivotally mounted on the set of ground-engaging members;
a handle bar assembly pivotally connected to the bucket between a first shovelling position and a second transporting and/or dumping position angularly spaced apart from the first position;
a handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism interposed between the handle bar assembly and the bucket for ( a) locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first position for performing a shovelling operation, ( b) releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position, ( c) locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the second position to perform a transporting and/or dumping operation, and ( d) releasing the handle bar assembly from the second position. The handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises:
a first set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members positioned for engagement with each other when the handle bar assembly is in the first position; and a second set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members positioned for engagement with each other when the handle bar assembly is in the second position.
In accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the manually operated shovelling) transporting and dumping device:
the handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises two semicircular surfaces laterally disposed with respect to each other and each provided with first and second holes, these semicircular surfaces being fixedly mounted on the bucket;
the first set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members comprises:
the two semicircular surfaces with the two first holes;
and two rods mounted longitudinally movable on the handle bar assembly for insertion in the two first holes, respectively when the handle bar assembly is in the first position; and the second set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members comprises:
the two semicircular surfaces with the two second holes; and the two rods for insertion in the two second holes, respectively, when the handle bar assembly is in the second position.
In accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, each rod has a first end for insertion in the first and second holes of the corresponding semicircular surface, and a second end, and the handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises:
a spring mechanism for urging the first end of the rod in the first or second hole to thereby lock the handle bar assembly in the first or second position, respectively; and a lever mechanism connected to the second end of the rod for pulling the second end of the rod against the force produced by the spring mechanism in order to withdraw the first end of the rod from the first or second hole and thereby release the handle bar assembly from the first or second position, respectively.
Advantageously, the set of ground-engaging members comprises a pair of wheels rotatatively mounted on an axle, the bucket is pivotally mounted on this axle, and the handle bar assembly is pivotally mounted on the axle.
Preferably, the handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises first and second transversally spaced apart frame members, and the manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device further comprises a transversal elongated member interconnecting the first and second frame members. This transversal elongated member can be used for hand-operating and/or foot-operating the shovelling, transporting and dumping device.
Further in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material using the above described manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device, comprising locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first shovelling position, manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly to shovel bulk material at a shovelling location, releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position, pivoting the handle bar assembly toward the second position, locking the handle bar assembly to the bucket in the second transporting and/or dumping position, manually operating the shovelling, transporting and dumping device through the handle bar assembly to transport bulk material contained in the bucket from the shovelling location to a discharge location, and manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly in order to dump at the discharge location the bulk material contained in the bucket.
The present invention still further relates to a method for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material using the above described manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device, comprising locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first shovelling position, manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly and the transversal elongated bar to shovel bulk material at a shovelling location, releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position, pivoting the handle bar assembly toward the second position, locking the handle bar assembly to the 5 bucket in the second transporting and/or dumping position, manually operating the shovelling, transporting and dumping device through the handle bar assembly and the transveral elongated member to transport bulk material contained in the bucket from the shovelling location to a discharge location, and manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly and the 10 transversal elongated member in order to dump at the discharge location the bulk material contained in the bucket.
The objects, advantages and other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non restrictive description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1, which is labelled as prior art, is an isometric view of a conventional snow float;
Figure 2 is an isomeric front view of a preferred embodiment of the the integrated device in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 3 is an isometric rear view of the integrated device of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a side elevation view of the integrated device of Figures 2 and 3;
Figure 5 is a front elevation view of the integrated device of Figures 2-4;
Figure 6 is a rear elevation view of the integrated device of Figures 2-6;
Figure 7 is a top plan view of the integrated device of Figures 2-6;
Figure 8 is a side elevation view of the left frame member of the integrated device of Figures 2-7; and Figure 9a is a front elevational view of a handle bar assembly of the integrated device of Figures 2-8; and Figure 9b is a side elevational view of the handle bar assembly of Figure 9a.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A preferred embodiment of the integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material according to the present invention will now be described in detail in connection with the appended drawings.
Referring to Figures 2, 3, 4 and 8, there is provided an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material comprising left and right frame members 1 a and 1 b, and a bucket 2.
As better illustrated in Figure 4, the bucket 2 has a C-shaped profile. It can be made of welded sheet metal or molded plastic material and is provided with a metal scraper 3 assembled on the leading edge of the bottom wall 4 of the bucket 2.
As illustrated, each frame member 1 a, 1 b is preferably made of metal and comprises:
- an elongated portion 20a, 20b applied to the rear face of the bucket 2 using fasteners such as rivets (not shown);
- an elongated portion 21 a, 21 b situated substantially in the plane of a bottom wall 4 of the bucket 2 and connected to portion 20a, 20b;
- a semicircular elongated portion 19a, 19b centered on an axle 6, and connected to the portion 20a, 20b; and - an elongated portion 22a, 22b interconnecting the elongated portions 19a, 19b and 21 a, 21 b.
Figure 8 illustrates the profile of the frame member 1 a, 1 b.
Figure 8 also shows the position of right and left bushings 5a and 5b fixedly secured to the frame members 1 a and 1 b, respectively, for example by welding.
The right and left bushings 5a and 5b are symmetrical to each other about a vertical central longitudinal plane of the integrated device. The axle 6 is inserted in the right and left bushings 5a and 5a, and a pair of wheels 7a and 7b are rotatively mounted at the respective ends of that axle 6. Friction end caps 8a and 8b are inserted at both ends of the axle 6 to retain the wheels 7a and 7b in that position. A stop member 9 interconnects the lower portions of the frame members 1 a and 1 b together. Stop member 9 can be used ( a) as a rest to maintain the integrated device in a backwardly tilted position, ( b) to push the bucket 2 in the shovelled material with one foot, and ( c) to pull the integrated device with one hand to withdraw the bucket from the dumped material.
The integrated device also comprises a handle bar assembly shown in detail in Figures 9a and 9b, respectively presenting front and side elevation views thereof. The handle bar assembly 10 is preferably made of welded steel tubing and comprises a top handle bar 11, a higher transversal bar 10 12, a lower transversal bar 13, a right side bar 14a, a left side bar 14b, and two coaxial left and right bushings 15a and 15b respectively welded to the lower ends of the side bars 14a and 14b. The bushings 15a and 15b receive the axle 6 to pivotally install the handle bar assembly 10 on this axle 6. Bushings 15a and 15b are positioned between and adjacent to bushings 5a and 5b.
As shown in Figure 4, the angular position of the handle bar assembly 10 about the axle 6, i.e. with respect to the frame members 1 a and 1 b and bucket 2 is adjustable between two extreme positions 23 and 24 according to the function to be accomplished. This angular position is set by means of an angular position adjusting system that will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3.
The angular position adjusting system comprises a pair of longitudinally movable connecting rods 16a and 16b. The lower ends of the two connecting rods 16a and 16b pass through respective bushings 20a and 20b (Figure 9a) as well as through respective holes 21 a and 21 b (Figure 9a) of the lower transversal bar 13. In position 23, the lower ends of the two connecting rods 16a and 16b are respectively engaged in a first pair of holes 17a and 17b, provided in the semicircular frame member portions 19a and 19b, respectively.
In position 24, the lower ends of the two connecting rods 16a and 16b are respectively engaged in a second pair of holes 18a and 18b provided in the semicircular frame member portions 19a and 19b, respectively.
Compression coil springs 25a and 25b are mounted on the connecting rods 16a and 16b, respectively. Compression coil spring 25a is mounted on rod 16a between a C-shaped clip 26a and the lower transversal bar 13. In the same manner, compression coil spring 25b is mounted on rod 16b between a C-shaped clip 26b and the lower transversal bar 13. Therefore, the compression coil springs 25a and 25b will normally push the lower ends of the connecting rods 16a and 16b in the holes of the semicircular portions 19a and 19b of the frame members 1 a and 1 b.
The angular position adjusting system further comprises a lever 27. The lever 27 is C-shaped and has two opposite, coaxial and outwardly extending straight portions 27a and 27b pivotally mounted in coaxial holes made in the side bars 14a and 14b. Clips 29a and 29b are mounted on the free ends of the straight portions 27a and 27b, respectively, to lock these straight portions 27a and 27b into the coaxial holes of the side bars 14a and 14b. The C-shaped lever 27 further comprises angular transversal portions 27c and 27d provided with respective coaxial holes 28a and 28b. The upper end of rod 16a is bent at right angle toward the right and is rotatably mounted in hole 28a in which it is locked by means of an appropriate clip (not shown). The upper end of rod 16b is bent at right angle toward the left and is rotatably mounted in hole 28b in which it is locked by means of an appropriate clip (not shown).
It can thus be understood that pulling the lever 27 will rotate this lever about the straight portion 27a and 27b to pull the connecting rods 16a and 16b against the compression exerted by springs 25a and 25b to thereby withdraw the lower ends of these connecting rods 16a and 16b from the respective holes in the semicircular portions 19a and 19b of the frame members 1 a and 1 b, thereby enabling the user to reposition the handle bar assembly at a different angle. Reciprocally, releasing the lever 27 will allow the compression springs 25a and 25b to urge the lower ends of the connecting rods 16a and 16b against the surface of the semicircular portions 19a and 19b of the 5 frame members 1 a and 1 b, respectively, and to penetrate a pair of holes such as 17a, 17b or 18a, 18b when proper alignment with these holes is reached.
The lower ends of the connecting rods 16a and 16b engaged with a pair of holes (17a, 17b or 18a, 18b) will firmly lock the handle bar assembly 10 in the new corresponding angular position such as 23 and 24 in Figure 4.
In operation, the above described integrated device may be used as follows to carry out shovelling, transporting and dumping of bulk material.
To shovel material and fill the bucket 2, the handle bar assembly 10 is first set to its lowermost position (preferably less than 45 degrees with respect to the ground) by inserting the lower ends of the connecting rods 16a and 16b in the holes 18a and 18b, respectively. This position transfers sufficient horizontal force from the handle bar assembly 10 to the bucket 2 positioned with its bottom wall applied to the ground surtace. Pushing the handle bar 11 rolls the integrated device on the ground with the leading edge of the bucket 2, provided with the metal scraper 3, scraping the ground or engaging a mound of material. Appropriate alternated pushing, tilting and pulling of the handle bar 11 enables the operator to fill the bucket 2 with material. Of course, pushing the stop member 9 with one foot will drive the bucket 2 in the shovelled material.
Then, the operator moves the handle bar 9 to a upper angular position, using the lever 27 according to the procedure described above, to pass to the transportation mode. For that purpose, the lever 27 is pulled to withdraw the lower ends of the connecting rods 16a and 16b from the holes 18a and 18b, the handle bar assembly 10 is pivoted about the axle 6, the lever 27 is released and, finally, the lower ends of the connecting rods 16a and 16b are urged in the holes 17a and 17b, respectively. Then, the user pulls the handle bar 11 backwards and downwards, possibly helped by a pressure on the stop member 9 with a foot, to provide maximal torque about the axle 6 to tilt the whole integrated device backwards and lift the bottom wall 4 of the bucket 2 from the ground. The handle bar 11 now returned to a comfortable height can be pulled or pushed by the user while substantially maintaining its vertical level to roll the loaded device to a dumping location.
Dumping of the material can then be simply accomplished by firstly releasing the handle bar 10 to let the bucket 2 rest on the ground and secondly by pushing forwardly and upwardly on the handle bar 11 to create a torque about the longitudinal axis of the scraper 3 and tilt the device forwardly, lifting the wheels 7a and 7b and the rear end of the bucket 2 and dumping the material. It is also contemplated that the operator may use one hand to pull the stop member 9 while pushing the handle bar 11 with the other hand to produce an optimal torque about the centre of gravity of the bucket 2 in view of performing the dumping operation more efficiently. With regard to that operation, it shall be noted that the shape of the bucket 2 is so engineered to optimise the leverage ratio and the position of the centre of gravity for a given volumetric capacity, in order to minimise the force to be applied to the handle bar 11 for dumping the load. Indeed, one can observe that the virtual line connecting the longitudinal axis of the scraper 3 to the axis of the upper hole pair 17a and 17b in the frame members 1 a and 1 b, respectively, is relatively short with respect to the length of the handle bar 11 extending above that hole axis, and that the centre of gravity of the loaded bucket 2 is located above and forwardly from that virtual line.
Another feature of the integrated device of the instant invention is that the stop member 9 can be used to maintain the integrated device tilted backwardly, both the wheels 7a and 7b and the stop member 9 resting on the ground. That latter position can be maintained without the assistance of the user and regardless of the angular position of the handle bar assembly 10. Such a position is useful to avoid spillage of the load during a pause or some manual loading or unloading operations.
Therefore, it can be seen that the integrated device of the present invention can be advantageously used for efficiently shovelling, transporting and dumping miscellaneous materials on various grounds, with minimal effort) stress and risks for the user, thus overcoming the drawbacks of the prior art devices.
Although the present invention has been described by means of a preferred embodiment thereof, it is contemplated that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the embodiment described be considered only as illustrative of the present invention and that the scope thereof should not be limited thereto but be determined with reference to the claims hereinafter provided and their equivalents. It is also intended to provide at least one other pair of holes in the semicircular elongated members 19a and 19b, intermediate holes 17a, 17b and 18a, 18b or not, to provide for additional adjustment of the handle bar assembly 10 during operation of the integrated device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the invention:
The present invention generally relates to tools and methods for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping various materials, and more particularly, to such a device in the form of a single piece of equipment with which all of these actions may be performed and to a method for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material using such a device.
Brief description of the prior art:
It is known in the prior art to use a shovel to shovel various materials such as earth, rocks, sand, etc. into a wheelbarrow for transportation purpose, particularly for domestic uses or small jobs. The wheelbarrow is usually an open container mounted on a frame having at least one wheel.
Handles are provided on opposite sides from at least one wheel to lift the frame, and push or pull the wheelbarrow to a desired location.
However, this system has the following drawback: personal injury may result from poor posture when handling the material with the shovel.
Furthermore, a wheelbarrow can be unevenly loaded or unbalanced during transportation, which may result in the content being spilled when pushing or pulling it.
The use of the shovel is inefficient, as the shovel typically will not carry a large load. When dealing with large projects, a back-hoe can be used to dig a hole, or a tractor equipped with a front loading bucket may be used to shovel snow, earth, rocks, etc. from a mound. However, the use of a back-hoe or a tractor for intermediate size works such as domestic uses may be inappropriate, due to the expense and the limited space available for the tractor or the back-hoe to manoeuvre and the damages caused to the ground.
Besides the traditional shovel and wheelbarrow, a few devices of the prior art addressing the problem of manually handling bulk material are worth mentioning.
US patent No 2,852,304 (Harrisson) issued on September 16, 1958 describes a single wheel dumping wheelbarrow where the bucket can be tilted upwardly and forwardly to dump its content by bringing the handles closer to each other rather than by lifting them. A scissors lifting device installed between the bottom of the bucket and the frame converts the horizontal displacement of the handles to perform the desired lifting and tilting action.
Obviously, although such a device may provide some added stability during dumping and somehow reduce the force applied by the user, it still requires the wheelbarrow to be filled using a shovel in the conventional way.
US patent No 2,234,879 (Shoesmith) issued on March 11, 1941 teaches a single wheel handcart provided with a triangular profile bucket for transporting and dumping bulk material. That device is characterized by the fact that the bucket is suspended over the chassis by two pivots located on opposite sides of the bucket, at such a level that the centre of gravity of the filled bucket is always below the axis connecting the pivots. This arrangement allows the bucket to remain substantially in the same orientation regardless of the position adopted by the handles and the chassis during loading and transportation, the centre of gravity of the bucket tending naturally to remain in vertical alignment with the pivot axis. A lever connected to the lower portion of the bucket through a pair of links can be operated to tilt the bucket forwardly and dump the material.
Again, such a device features very limited advantages, as compared to a common wheelbarrow.
The two wheeled self-dumping wheelbarrow disclosed in US
patent No 2,766,063 (Greeley) issued on October 9, 1956 uses two widely spaced apart wheels and a low centre of gravity for added stability and limited risks of spillage. This device comprises a triangular profile bucket pivoting about its apex axis. In the loading position, the bucket is prevented from pivoting since it is attached to the frame through a hook. Once the bucket has been filled with material, the handles can be pulled while blocking the wheel axle to pivot the frame backwardly about that axis and roll the wheel barrow to the dumping location. Pulling a lever while the handles and the frame are tilted in the transport position pulls the hook, thus unlocking the bucket and causing it to tilt forwardly and downwardly dumping its content. In the loading position, that device, in the preferred embodiment thereof, has the bottom surface of its bucket lying flat on the ground and its frame terminated by the handle bars extending substantially upright. While that ground-engaging position of the bucket is intended for picking up a load from the ground, it shall be deemed that bulk material can not be shovelled by the device itself since the vertical position of the handle bars do not allow the user to apply the necessary horizontal force on the bucket to engage it with the material in order to be filled.
Although the latter devices of the prior art could bring some benefits in transporting and dumping bulk material, none of them provides a shovelling function, as for instance a pay-loader or back-hoe does.
More recently, a snow float as schematically illustrated in Figure 1 has been available on the market for snow shovelling. This device comprises a relatively large bucket with a triangular profile rigidly assembled to a fixed U-shaped handle bar and can be dragged on a slippery snowy ground surface by pushing or pulling the handle bar. In operation, a user may push on the handle to drag the bucket with the leading edge of its bottom surface scraping the snowy ground, thus filling the bucket with snow. The apparatus can then by appropriate pushing and pulling of the handle bar be used to transport the snow load to a discharge location. Dumping the snow at the discharge location requires the bucket to be tilted forwardly by lifting and tilting the handle bar used as a lever.
Although the latter device is relatively advantageous for snow shovelling, it could obviously not be used for handling heavier bulk material such as earth, rocks or sand on a dry ground. For such applications, wheels, a sturdier structure and a variable position of the handle for optimal leverage effect in every operation are necessary.
There is thus a need for an improved device allowing a user to efficiently shovel, transport and dump fairly large volumes of heavy bulk material without the need for additional tools and with minimal risks of personal injuries.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material which overcomes the limitations and drawbacks of the above mentioned solutions of the prior art, and more specifically:
- a first object of the instant invention is to provide an integrated device for 5 transporting and dumping bulk material such as earth, rocks, sand, snow etc.
that can be used to shovel material and load itself without the need for any other tool;
- a second object of the present invention is to provide an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material featuring a very high degree of stability, practically eliminating any risk of inadvertently spilling the material to be transported;
- a third object of the present invention is to provide an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material that can be used with a wide selection of materials and operated on miscellaneous types of grounds, dry or wet;
- a fourth object of the present invention is to provide an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material which has a sturdy structure and enables a user to handle heavy loads and accomplish large projects alone;
- a fifth object of the present invention is to provide an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material that is safe to operate, more efficient than existing manual equipments and tools with respect to the time and energy spent to complete a job, and causes less fatigue and risks of personal injury for a given job than existing methods;
- another object of the instant invention is to provide an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material that is compact, economical, takes little space for manoeuvring, creates no environmental pollution in operation and uses no energy but human power; and - a further object of the present invention is to provide a new and very efficient method for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
More specifically, in accordance with the invention as broadly claimed, there is provided a manually operated device for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material, comprising ground-engaging means on which the shovelling, transporting and dumping manually operated device is displaced on the ground, a bucket pivotally mounted on the ground-engaging means, a handle bar assembly pivotally connected to the bucket between a first shovelling position and a second transporting and/or dumping position angularly spaced apart from the first position, a handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism interposed between the handle bar assembly and the bucket. This handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises means for locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first position for performing a shovelling operation, means for releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position, means for locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the second position to perform a transporting and/or dumping operation, and means for releasing the handle bar assembly from the second position.
The present invention is also concerned with a manually operated device for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material, comprising:
a set of ground-engaging members on which the shovelling, transporting and dumping manually operated device is displaced on the ground;
a bucket pivotally mounted on the set of ground-engaging members;
a handle bar assembly pivotally connected to the bucket between a first shovelling position and a second transporting and/or dumping position angularly spaced apart from the first position;
a handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism interposed between the handle bar assembly and the bucket for ( a) locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first position for performing a shovelling operation, ( b) releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position, ( c) locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the second position to perform a transporting and/or dumping operation, and ( d) releasing the handle bar assembly from the second position. The handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises:
a first set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members positioned for engagement with each other when the handle bar assembly is in the first position; and a second set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members positioned for engagement with each other when the handle bar assembly is in the second position.
In accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the manually operated shovelling) transporting and dumping device:
the handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises two semicircular surfaces laterally disposed with respect to each other and each provided with first and second holes, these semicircular surfaces being fixedly mounted on the bucket;
the first set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members comprises:
the two semicircular surfaces with the two first holes;
and two rods mounted longitudinally movable on the handle bar assembly for insertion in the two first holes, respectively when the handle bar assembly is in the first position; and the second set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members comprises:
the two semicircular surfaces with the two second holes; and the two rods for insertion in the two second holes, respectively, when the handle bar assembly is in the second position.
In accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, each rod has a first end for insertion in the first and second holes of the corresponding semicircular surface, and a second end, and the handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises:
a spring mechanism for urging the first end of the rod in the first or second hole to thereby lock the handle bar assembly in the first or second position, respectively; and a lever mechanism connected to the second end of the rod for pulling the second end of the rod against the force produced by the spring mechanism in order to withdraw the first end of the rod from the first or second hole and thereby release the handle bar assembly from the first or second position, respectively.
Advantageously, the set of ground-engaging members comprises a pair of wheels rotatatively mounted on an axle, the bucket is pivotally mounted on this axle, and the handle bar assembly is pivotally mounted on the axle.
Preferably, the handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises first and second transversally spaced apart frame members, and the manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device further comprises a transversal elongated member interconnecting the first and second frame members. This transversal elongated member can be used for hand-operating and/or foot-operating the shovelling, transporting and dumping device.
Further in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material using the above described manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device, comprising locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first shovelling position, manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly to shovel bulk material at a shovelling location, releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position, pivoting the handle bar assembly toward the second position, locking the handle bar assembly to the bucket in the second transporting and/or dumping position, manually operating the shovelling, transporting and dumping device through the handle bar assembly to transport bulk material contained in the bucket from the shovelling location to a discharge location, and manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly in order to dump at the discharge location the bulk material contained in the bucket.
The present invention still further relates to a method for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material using the above described manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device, comprising locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first shovelling position, manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly and the transversal elongated bar to shovel bulk material at a shovelling location, releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position, pivoting the handle bar assembly toward the second position, locking the handle bar assembly to the 5 bucket in the second transporting and/or dumping position, manually operating the shovelling, transporting and dumping device through the handle bar assembly and the transveral elongated member to transport bulk material contained in the bucket from the shovelling location to a discharge location, and manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly and the 10 transversal elongated member in order to dump at the discharge location the bulk material contained in the bucket.
The objects, advantages and other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non restrictive description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1, which is labelled as prior art, is an isometric view of a conventional snow float;
Figure 2 is an isomeric front view of a preferred embodiment of the the integrated device in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 3 is an isometric rear view of the integrated device of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a side elevation view of the integrated device of Figures 2 and 3;
Figure 5 is a front elevation view of the integrated device of Figures 2-4;
Figure 6 is a rear elevation view of the integrated device of Figures 2-6;
Figure 7 is a top plan view of the integrated device of Figures 2-6;
Figure 8 is a side elevation view of the left frame member of the integrated device of Figures 2-7; and Figure 9a is a front elevational view of a handle bar assembly of the integrated device of Figures 2-8; and Figure 9b is a side elevational view of the handle bar assembly of Figure 9a.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A preferred embodiment of the integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material according to the present invention will now be described in detail in connection with the appended drawings.
Referring to Figures 2, 3, 4 and 8, there is provided an integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping material comprising left and right frame members 1 a and 1 b, and a bucket 2.
As better illustrated in Figure 4, the bucket 2 has a C-shaped profile. It can be made of welded sheet metal or molded plastic material and is provided with a metal scraper 3 assembled on the leading edge of the bottom wall 4 of the bucket 2.
As illustrated, each frame member 1 a, 1 b is preferably made of metal and comprises:
- an elongated portion 20a, 20b applied to the rear face of the bucket 2 using fasteners such as rivets (not shown);
- an elongated portion 21 a, 21 b situated substantially in the plane of a bottom wall 4 of the bucket 2 and connected to portion 20a, 20b;
- a semicircular elongated portion 19a, 19b centered on an axle 6, and connected to the portion 20a, 20b; and - an elongated portion 22a, 22b interconnecting the elongated portions 19a, 19b and 21 a, 21 b.
Figure 8 illustrates the profile of the frame member 1 a, 1 b.
Figure 8 also shows the position of right and left bushings 5a and 5b fixedly secured to the frame members 1 a and 1 b, respectively, for example by welding.
The right and left bushings 5a and 5b are symmetrical to each other about a vertical central longitudinal plane of the integrated device. The axle 6 is inserted in the right and left bushings 5a and 5a, and a pair of wheels 7a and 7b are rotatively mounted at the respective ends of that axle 6. Friction end caps 8a and 8b are inserted at both ends of the axle 6 to retain the wheels 7a and 7b in that position. A stop member 9 interconnects the lower portions of the frame members 1 a and 1 b together. Stop member 9 can be used ( a) as a rest to maintain the integrated device in a backwardly tilted position, ( b) to push the bucket 2 in the shovelled material with one foot, and ( c) to pull the integrated device with one hand to withdraw the bucket from the dumped material.
The integrated device also comprises a handle bar assembly shown in detail in Figures 9a and 9b, respectively presenting front and side elevation views thereof. The handle bar assembly 10 is preferably made of welded steel tubing and comprises a top handle bar 11, a higher transversal bar 10 12, a lower transversal bar 13, a right side bar 14a, a left side bar 14b, and two coaxial left and right bushings 15a and 15b respectively welded to the lower ends of the side bars 14a and 14b. The bushings 15a and 15b receive the axle 6 to pivotally install the handle bar assembly 10 on this axle 6. Bushings 15a and 15b are positioned between and adjacent to bushings 5a and 5b.
As shown in Figure 4, the angular position of the handle bar assembly 10 about the axle 6, i.e. with respect to the frame members 1 a and 1 b and bucket 2 is adjustable between two extreme positions 23 and 24 according to the function to be accomplished. This angular position is set by means of an angular position adjusting system that will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3.
The angular position adjusting system comprises a pair of longitudinally movable connecting rods 16a and 16b. The lower ends of the two connecting rods 16a and 16b pass through respective bushings 20a and 20b (Figure 9a) as well as through respective holes 21 a and 21 b (Figure 9a) of the lower transversal bar 13. In position 23, the lower ends of the two connecting rods 16a and 16b are respectively engaged in a first pair of holes 17a and 17b, provided in the semicircular frame member portions 19a and 19b, respectively.
In position 24, the lower ends of the two connecting rods 16a and 16b are respectively engaged in a second pair of holes 18a and 18b provided in the semicircular frame member portions 19a and 19b, respectively.
Compression coil springs 25a and 25b are mounted on the connecting rods 16a and 16b, respectively. Compression coil spring 25a is mounted on rod 16a between a C-shaped clip 26a and the lower transversal bar 13. In the same manner, compression coil spring 25b is mounted on rod 16b between a C-shaped clip 26b and the lower transversal bar 13. Therefore, the compression coil springs 25a and 25b will normally push the lower ends of the connecting rods 16a and 16b in the holes of the semicircular portions 19a and 19b of the frame members 1 a and 1 b.
The angular position adjusting system further comprises a lever 27. The lever 27 is C-shaped and has two opposite, coaxial and outwardly extending straight portions 27a and 27b pivotally mounted in coaxial holes made in the side bars 14a and 14b. Clips 29a and 29b are mounted on the free ends of the straight portions 27a and 27b, respectively, to lock these straight portions 27a and 27b into the coaxial holes of the side bars 14a and 14b. The C-shaped lever 27 further comprises angular transversal portions 27c and 27d provided with respective coaxial holes 28a and 28b. The upper end of rod 16a is bent at right angle toward the right and is rotatably mounted in hole 28a in which it is locked by means of an appropriate clip (not shown). The upper end of rod 16b is bent at right angle toward the left and is rotatably mounted in hole 28b in which it is locked by means of an appropriate clip (not shown).
It can thus be understood that pulling the lever 27 will rotate this lever about the straight portion 27a and 27b to pull the connecting rods 16a and 16b against the compression exerted by springs 25a and 25b to thereby withdraw the lower ends of these connecting rods 16a and 16b from the respective holes in the semicircular portions 19a and 19b of the frame members 1 a and 1 b, thereby enabling the user to reposition the handle bar assembly at a different angle. Reciprocally, releasing the lever 27 will allow the compression springs 25a and 25b to urge the lower ends of the connecting rods 16a and 16b against the surface of the semicircular portions 19a and 19b of the 5 frame members 1 a and 1 b, respectively, and to penetrate a pair of holes such as 17a, 17b or 18a, 18b when proper alignment with these holes is reached.
The lower ends of the connecting rods 16a and 16b engaged with a pair of holes (17a, 17b or 18a, 18b) will firmly lock the handle bar assembly 10 in the new corresponding angular position such as 23 and 24 in Figure 4.
In operation, the above described integrated device may be used as follows to carry out shovelling, transporting and dumping of bulk material.
To shovel material and fill the bucket 2, the handle bar assembly 10 is first set to its lowermost position (preferably less than 45 degrees with respect to the ground) by inserting the lower ends of the connecting rods 16a and 16b in the holes 18a and 18b, respectively. This position transfers sufficient horizontal force from the handle bar assembly 10 to the bucket 2 positioned with its bottom wall applied to the ground surtace. Pushing the handle bar 11 rolls the integrated device on the ground with the leading edge of the bucket 2, provided with the metal scraper 3, scraping the ground or engaging a mound of material. Appropriate alternated pushing, tilting and pulling of the handle bar 11 enables the operator to fill the bucket 2 with material. Of course, pushing the stop member 9 with one foot will drive the bucket 2 in the shovelled material.
Then, the operator moves the handle bar 9 to a upper angular position, using the lever 27 according to the procedure described above, to pass to the transportation mode. For that purpose, the lever 27 is pulled to withdraw the lower ends of the connecting rods 16a and 16b from the holes 18a and 18b, the handle bar assembly 10 is pivoted about the axle 6, the lever 27 is released and, finally, the lower ends of the connecting rods 16a and 16b are urged in the holes 17a and 17b, respectively. Then, the user pulls the handle bar 11 backwards and downwards, possibly helped by a pressure on the stop member 9 with a foot, to provide maximal torque about the axle 6 to tilt the whole integrated device backwards and lift the bottom wall 4 of the bucket 2 from the ground. The handle bar 11 now returned to a comfortable height can be pulled or pushed by the user while substantially maintaining its vertical level to roll the loaded device to a dumping location.
Dumping of the material can then be simply accomplished by firstly releasing the handle bar 10 to let the bucket 2 rest on the ground and secondly by pushing forwardly and upwardly on the handle bar 11 to create a torque about the longitudinal axis of the scraper 3 and tilt the device forwardly, lifting the wheels 7a and 7b and the rear end of the bucket 2 and dumping the material. It is also contemplated that the operator may use one hand to pull the stop member 9 while pushing the handle bar 11 with the other hand to produce an optimal torque about the centre of gravity of the bucket 2 in view of performing the dumping operation more efficiently. With regard to that operation, it shall be noted that the shape of the bucket 2 is so engineered to optimise the leverage ratio and the position of the centre of gravity for a given volumetric capacity, in order to minimise the force to be applied to the handle bar 11 for dumping the load. Indeed, one can observe that the virtual line connecting the longitudinal axis of the scraper 3 to the axis of the upper hole pair 17a and 17b in the frame members 1 a and 1 b, respectively, is relatively short with respect to the length of the handle bar 11 extending above that hole axis, and that the centre of gravity of the loaded bucket 2 is located above and forwardly from that virtual line.
Another feature of the integrated device of the instant invention is that the stop member 9 can be used to maintain the integrated device tilted backwardly, both the wheels 7a and 7b and the stop member 9 resting on the ground. That latter position can be maintained without the assistance of the user and regardless of the angular position of the handle bar assembly 10. Such a position is useful to avoid spillage of the load during a pause or some manual loading or unloading operations.
Therefore, it can be seen that the integrated device of the present invention can be advantageously used for efficiently shovelling, transporting and dumping miscellaneous materials on various grounds, with minimal effort) stress and risks for the user, thus overcoming the drawbacks of the prior art devices.
Although the present invention has been described by means of a preferred embodiment thereof, it is contemplated that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the embodiment described be considered only as illustrative of the present invention and that the scope thereof should not be limited thereto but be determined with reference to the claims hereinafter provided and their equivalents. It is also intended to provide at least one other pair of holes in the semicircular elongated members 19a and 19b, intermediate holes 17a, 17b and 18a, 18b or not, to provide for additional adjustment of the handle bar assembly 10 during operation of the integrated device.
Claims (10)
1. A manually operated device for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material, comprising:
ground-engaging means on which said shovelling, transporting and dumping manually operated device is displaced on the ground;
a bucket pivotally mounted on the ground-engaging means;
a handle bar assembly pivotally connected to the bucket between a first shovelling position and a second transporting and/or dumping position angularly spaced apart from said first position;
a handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism interposed between the handle bar assembly and the bucket, said handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprising:
means for locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first position for performing a shovelling operation;
means for releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position;
means for locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the second position to perform a transporting and/or dumping operation; and means for releasing the handle bar assembly from the second position.
ground-engaging means on which said shovelling, transporting and dumping manually operated device is displaced on the ground;
a bucket pivotally mounted on the ground-engaging means;
a handle bar assembly pivotally connected to the bucket between a first shovelling position and a second transporting and/or dumping position angularly spaced apart from said first position;
a handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism interposed between the handle bar assembly and the bucket, said handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprising:
means for locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first position for performing a shovelling operation;
means for releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position;
means for locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the second position to perform a transporting and/or dumping operation; and means for releasing the handle bar assembly from the second position.
2. A manually operated device for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material, comprising:
a set of ground-engaging members on which said shovelling, transporting and dumping manually operated device is displaced on the ground;
a bucket pivotally mounted on the set of ground-engaging members;
a handle, bar assembly pivotally connected to the bucket between a first shovelling position and a second transporting and/or dumping position angularly spaced apart from said first position;
a handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism interposed between the handle bar assembly and the bucket for (a) locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first position for performing a shovelling operation, (b) releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position, (c) locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the second position to perform a transporting and/or dumping operation, and (d) releasing the handle bar assembly from the second position, said handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprising:
a first set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members positioned for engagement with each other when the handle bar assembly is in the first position; and a second set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members positioned for engagement with each other when the handle bar assembly is in the second position.
a set of ground-engaging members on which said shovelling, transporting and dumping manually operated device is displaced on the ground;
a bucket pivotally mounted on the set of ground-engaging members;
a handle, bar assembly pivotally connected to the bucket between a first shovelling position and a second transporting and/or dumping position angularly spaced apart from said first position;
a handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism interposed between the handle bar assembly and the bucket for (a) locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first position for performing a shovelling operation, (b) releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position, (c) locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the second position to perform a transporting and/or dumping operation, and (d) releasing the handle bar assembly from the second position, said handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprising:
a first set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members positioned for engagement with each other when the handle bar assembly is in the first position; and a second set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members positioned for engagement with each other when the handle bar assembly is in the second position.
3. A manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device as recited in claim 2, wherein:
the handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises at least one semicircular surface provided with spaced apart first and second holes, said semicircular surface being fixedly mounted on the bucket;
the first set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members comprises:
the semicircular surface with the first hole; and a rod mounted longitudinally movable on the handle bar assembly for insertion in the first hole when said handle bar assembly is in the first position; and the second set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members comprises:
the semicircular surface with the second hole; and said rod for insertion in the second hole when said handle bar assembly is in the second position.
the handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises at least one semicircular surface provided with spaced apart first and second holes, said semicircular surface being fixedly mounted on the bucket;
the first set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members comprises:
the semicircular surface with the first hole; and a rod mounted longitudinally movable on the handle bar assembly for insertion in the first hole when said handle bar assembly is in the first position; and the second set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members comprises:
the semicircular surface with the second hole; and said rod for insertion in the second hole when said handle bar assembly is in the second position.
4. A manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device as recited in claim 2, wherein:
the handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises two semicircular surfaces laterally disposed with respect to each other and each provided with first and second holes, said semicircular surfaces being fixedly mounted on the bucket;
the first set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members comprises:
the two semicircular surfaces with the two first holes;
and two rods mounted longitudinally movable on the handle bar assembly for insertion in the two first holes, respectively when said handle bar assembly is in the first position; and the second set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members comprises:
the two semicircular surfaces with the two second holes; and said two rods for insertion in the two second holes, respectively, when said handle bar assembly is in the second position.
the handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises two semicircular surfaces laterally disposed with respect to each other and each provided with first and second holes, said semicircular surfaces being fixedly mounted on the bucket;
the first set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members comprises:
the two semicircular surfaces with the two first holes;
and two rods mounted longitudinally movable on the handle bar assembly for insertion in the two first holes, respectively when said handle bar assembly is in the first position; and the second set of mutually engageable and mutually releasable locking members comprises:
the two semicircular surfaces with the two second holes; and said two rods for insertion in the two second holes, respectively, when said handle bar assembly is in the second position.
5. A manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device as recited in claim 2, wherein:
the set of ground-engaging members comprises a pair of wheels rotatatively mounted on an axle;
the bucket is pivotally mounted on said axle; and the handle bar assembly is pivotally mounted on said axle.
the set of ground-engaging members comprises a pair of wheels rotatatively mounted on an axle;
the bucket is pivotally mounted on said axle; and the handle bar assembly is pivotally mounted on said axle.
6. A manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device as recited in claim 3, wherein:
said rod has a first end for insertion in the first and second holes, and a second end;
said handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises:
a spring mechanism for urging the first end of the rod in the first or second hole to thereby lock the handle bar assembly in the first or second position, respectively; and a lever mechanism connected to the second end of the rod for pulling the second end of the rod against the force produced by the spring mechanism in order to withdraw the first end of the rod from the first or second hole and thereby release the handle bar assembly from the first or second position, respectively.
said rod has a first end for insertion in the first and second holes, and a second end;
said handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises:
a spring mechanism for urging the first end of the rod in the first or second hole to thereby lock the handle bar assembly in the first or second position, respectively; and a lever mechanism connected to the second end of the rod for pulling the second end of the rod against the force produced by the spring mechanism in order to withdraw the first end of the rod from the first or second hole and thereby release the handle bar assembly from the first or second position, respectively.
7. A manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device as recited in claim 3, wherein:
each rod has a first end for insertion in the first and second holes of the corresponding semicircular surface, and a second end;
said handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises:
a spring mechanism for urging the first end of the rod in the first or second hole to thereby lock the handle bar assembly in the first or second position, respectively; and a lever mechanism connected to the second end of the rod for pulling the second end of the rod against the force produced by the spring mechanism in order to withdraw the first end of the rod from the first or second hole and thereby release the handle bar assembly from the first or second position, respectively.
each rod has a first end for insertion in the first and second holes of the corresponding semicircular surface, and a second end;
said handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises:
a spring mechanism for urging the first end of the rod in the first or second hole to thereby lock the handle bar assembly in the first or second position, respectively; and a lever mechanism connected to the second end of the rod for pulling the second end of the rod against the force produced by the spring mechanism in order to withdraw the first end of the rod from the first or second hole and thereby release the handle bar assembly from the first or second position, respectively.
8. A manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device as recited in claim 2, wherein the handle bar assembly locking and releasing mechanism comprises first and second transversally spaced apart frame members, and wherein said manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device further comprises a transversal elongated member interconnecting the first and second frame members, said transversal elongated member being used for hand-operating and/or foot-operating the shovelling, transporting and dumping device.
9. A method for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material using a manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device as recited in claim 2, comprising:
locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first shovelling position;
manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly to shovel bulk material at a shovelling location;
releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position;
pivoting the handle bar assembly toward the second position;
locking the handle bar assembly to the bucket in the second transporting and/or dumping position;
manually operating the shovelling, transporting and dumping 23~
device through the handle bar assembly to transport bulk material contained in the bucket from the shovelling location to a discharge location; and manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly in order to dump at the discharge location the bulk material contained in the bucket.
locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first shovelling position;
manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly to shovel bulk material at a shovelling location;
releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position;
pivoting the handle bar assembly toward the second position;
locking the handle bar assembly to the bucket in the second transporting and/or dumping position;
manually operating the shovelling, transporting and dumping 23~
device through the handle bar assembly to transport bulk material contained in the bucket from the shovelling location to a discharge location; and manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly in order to dump at the discharge location the bulk material contained in the bucket.
10. A method for shovelling, transporting and dumping bulk material using a manually operated shovelling, transporting and dumping device as recited in claim 8, comprising:
locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first shovelling position;
manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly and the transversal elongated member to shovel bulk material at a shovelling location;
releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position;
pivoting the handle bar assembly toward the second position;
locking the handle bar assembly to the bucket in the second transporting and/or dumping position;
manually operating the shovelling, transporting and dumping device through the handle bar assembly and the transversal elongated member to transport bulk material contained in the bucket from the shovelling location to a discharge location; and manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly and the transversal elongated member in order to dump at the discharge location the bulk material contained in the bucket.
locking the handle bar assembly on the bucket in the first shovelling position;
manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly and the transversal elongated member to shovel bulk material at a shovelling location;
releasing the handle bar assembly from the first position;
pivoting the handle bar assembly toward the second position;
locking the handle bar assembly to the bucket in the second transporting and/or dumping position;
manually operating the shovelling, transporting and dumping device through the handle bar assembly and the transversal elongated member to transport bulk material contained in the bucket from the shovelling location to a discharge location; and manually operating the bucket through the handle bar assembly and the transversal elongated member in order to dump at the discharge location the bulk material contained in the bucket.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2271347 CA2271347A1 (en) | 1998-05-06 | 1999-05-06 | Integrated device for use in shoveling, transporting and dumping |
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2234443 CA2234443A1 (en) | 1998-05-06 | 1998-05-06 | Integrated device for use in shovelling, transporting and dumping |
| CA2,234,443 | 1998-05-06 | ||
| CA 2271347 CA2271347A1 (en) | 1998-05-06 | 1999-05-06 | Integrated device for use in shoveling, transporting and dumping |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2271347A1 true CA2271347A1 (en) | 1999-11-06 |
Family
ID=29712979
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2271347 Abandoned CA2271347A1 (en) | 1998-05-06 | 1999-05-06 | Integrated device for use in shoveling, transporting and dumping |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2271347A1 (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP2476601A1 (en) * | 2011-01-18 | 2012-07-18 | CartMate ApS | Flexible barrow |
| FR2982828A1 (en) * | 2011-11-23 | 2013-05-24 | Benoit Gobard | TRANSPORT VEHICLE WITH GROUND LOADING AND METHOD OF USING THE VEHICLE THEREFOR |
-
1999
- 1999-05-06 CA CA 2271347 patent/CA2271347A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP2476601A1 (en) * | 2011-01-18 | 2012-07-18 | CartMate ApS | Flexible barrow |
| WO2012098162A3 (en) * | 2011-01-18 | 2012-11-15 | Cartmate Aps | Adjustable barrow |
| FR2982828A1 (en) * | 2011-11-23 | 2013-05-24 | Benoit Gobard | TRANSPORT VEHICLE WITH GROUND LOADING AND METHOD OF USING THE VEHICLE THEREFOR |
| WO2013076040A1 (en) * | 2011-11-23 | 2013-05-30 | Gobard Benoit | Ground-loaded transport vehicle, and related method for using the vehicle |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Dead |