FI115410B - snow tools - Google Patents

Description

115410

snow Tools

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a snow tool, such as a snow shovel, a snow thrower, a snow collar or the like. Such a snow tool comprises a housing made of a metal profile for transferring snow 5 and a cover made to cover the front edge of the housing.

The titles of hand-held snow tools vary according to the application and the amount of snow that each tool is intended to carry. Typically, a shovel is used to transfer small amounts of snow, and nowadays so-called clean-up areas are used to clean slightly larger areas. a snow thrower to push the snow aside, and to clear larger areas and move larger amounts of snow into the snow. These all have a tip portion for moving and transporting snow, which is referred to as a nest in this application. In addition to the housing, the snow shovel and snow thrower have a handle and a handle at the end of the handle. The snow cubicle, on the other hand, has a generally U-shaped arm, the arms of which are connected to opposite sides of the housing.

Most snow tools currently in use have a housing made of a plastic material that retains its properties even in cold freezing conditions. However, the abrasion resistance and impact resistance of the plastic body, in particular with respect to its leading edge, is not sufficient as such. For this reason, the front edge of the housing is typically provided with a metal strip. This leading edge is exactly the part of the snow tool that is exposed to shocks and the hardest wear when pushing the tool over hard surfaces such as asphalt.

Specifically, the snow shovels and snow throwers have a metal profile made of an aluminum alloy as a front edge reinforcement, which is shaped to lock into the front edge of the snow tool housing. Such a tip reinforcement is inexpensive in both manufacturing and installation costs, but has some minor problems. Such problems include the relatively poor abrasion and is-30 resistance of the aluminum alloy, which, in long-term use, results in wear on the tip reinforcement, especially if the tool is used to clean hard surfaces such as asphalt from snow. One minor problem can be

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mention also the relative friction between the aluminum tip reinforcement and the road surface; · *

'' · 35 For thicker snow tools, such as snow clicks, the tip reinforcement is typically made of steel because the aluminum profile in these 2 115410 tools has not been considered to provide sufficient wear resistance. However, forming a steel profile and attaching it to the front edge of the snow cavity is relatively cumbersome and laborious. Typically, the profile is formed either from a plurality of strip-like parts by spot welding or by punching from a uniform metal plate. The fastening of the reinforcing 5, on the other hand, is typically done using rivets.

Summary of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a snow tool having a leading edge reinforcement of the housing which has been successful in avoiding most of the problems associated with the known structures mentioned above. The snow tool according to the invention, which achieves this victory, is characterized in that it comprises a cavity extending longitudinally of the housing and opening to the underside of the housing, and a metal strip adapted to lock into the cavity by its shape. Preferably, the material of this metal strip is more durable than the material of the metal profile. A practical embodiment of the 15 is provided by an embodiment wherein the metal profile material is aluminum alloy and the metal strip material is steel, such as stainless steel or carbon steel, such as piano wire.

The leading edge of the housing used in the snow tool according to the invention is still very simple to manufacture. The metal profile therein can be extruded and the metal strip inserted into the cavity of the profile can, for example, be made by cutting and threading a suitably selected steel wire into the profile cavity where it remains unattached. However, the wear resistance of this tip reinforcement has been substantially improved by the aluminum profile alone. 25 compared to fitting the profile to the wear-prone position of a wear-resistant material, such as a metal strip made of steel.

In lightweight snow tools, such as snow shovels and snow throwers, the metal reinforcement according to the invention is intended to replace the aluminum profile previously used therein. The tip reinforcement according to the invention,; · 30 eliminates the problems associated with this previous aluminum profile, i.e., '': high wear resistance and high friction coefficient. In these ratios, the metal strip inserted in the tip reinforcement according to the invention provides substantially; .. * a better end result.

The steel tip reinforcement used in conjunction with snow blades can also be thought of as a replacement for the tip reinforcement according to the invention. Although; The tip reinforcement according to the invention is not necessarily of the same grade of wear and impact resistance as the previously used steel tip reinforcement, however, it is substantially simpler and less expensive to manufacture and also simpler and less expensive to attach to the front edge of the snow cage. In most cases, the tip reinforcement provided in accordance with the invention provides sufficient abrasion and impact resistance even with a snowball.

List of figures

The snow tool of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of the snow tool of the invention and Figure 2 shows a more detailed structure of the tip reinforcement used in the tool of Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 shows a snow thrower 1 as an example embodiment of a snow tool according to the invention. The snow thrower 1 of Figure 1 comprises a snow transfer housing 2, an elongated shaft 3 attached to the housing and a handle 5 secured to the front edge of the housing 2. is also referred to as a tip reinforcement in this application.

Figure 2 shows in more detail a portion of the tip reinforcement 5. The tip reinforcement comprises a metal profile 8 formed by dropping. most commonly, such metal profiles are made of aluminum alloy, the alloys of which are in each case preferably selected for the intended use. Typical '·' · * alloys are silicon (Si), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn). The most important alloys are aluminum-magnesium-silicon alloys. They combine good • · »: \: strength properties, excellent corrosion resistance, easy machining and low cost. Alloys can significantly improve the properties of aluminum and adapt it for different applications. In the following, profile 8 is referred to as an aluminum profile, although, as already stated, it contains ./**; 30 other materials than aluminum.

. *. In Fig. 2, the aluminum profile 8 is shown with its surface 9 facing upwards when the snow thrower 1 is used.

According to the invention, a longitudinal cavity 6 of the profile is formed in the aluminum profile 8 when it is produced by dropping and which opens on the side 9 of the surface 9 -> 115410 4 le. Since the cavity 6 is already provided when the aluminum profile itself is dropped, it extends from end to end of this tip reinforcement made by cutting.

In the exemplary embodiment of the aluminum profile shown in Figure 2, the cavity 6 has a circular cross-section. Part of the circumference of this circular cavity 5 thus opens to the side 9 of the surface. For example, this open portion may be about a quarter of the circumference of the circle. By using a cavity of circular cross section with a metal strip 7 of circular cross section, as shown in the exemplary embodiment of Figure 2, the amount of open portion in question can adjust how much the metal strip protrudes from the surface 9 of the pro however, the open portion cannot be 180 ° larger. In practice, in order for the metal strip to remain securely in its cavity during the profile, the open portion should be substantially less than 180 °.

When using a circular cross-sectional shape of the cavity, the extent to which the metal strip protrudes from the surface 9 of the aluminum profile 8 can of course also be adjusted by adjusting the diameter of the cavity and the metal strip fitted thereto. A circular cross-section may be the most practical way to implement the invention, since steel rods of various diameters, such as carbon steel wires, i.e. so-called piano wires, are generally and advantageously available. However, other cross-sectional shapes such as square, hexagon or other similar shape may also be contemplated for the invention. It is essential that the cross-sectional shapes of the cavity and the metal strip fitted thereto correspond to each other and that the cross-sectional shape allows the metal strip to remain in the cavity, i.e., locked by its shape into the profile cavity.

The exemplary embodiment of the tip reinforcement 5 shown in Fig. 2 is also lockable by its shape at the leading edge of the tool housing.

This feature is achieved by forming an opening 10 on the aluminum profile 8, bounded on the sides 11 and 12 by the thresholds or notches 13 and 14, respectively. When the cross sectional profile of the snow tool housing 2 is shaped to fit 10, the aluminum profile 8 12 on the other hand, due to the resilience and the resilience of the plastic material of the housing, forces it into position at the leading edge of the housing, such that the housing leading edge locks behind the barbs 13 and 14 by its shape.

,. As stated above, when using the tip reinforcement according to the invention, it is possible to eliminate the poor wear and impact resistance of the aluminum profile tip reinforcement on the one hand and the steel toe reinforcement * 5 with snow tools.

The snow tool according to the invention has been described above with only one pre-5 exemplary embodiment and it is to be understood that numerous modifications to the design details can be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

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Claims (7)

A snow gear comprising a snow removal container (2) and a metal profile (8) formed (5) arranged to cover the front edge of the container, characterized in that the reinforcement (5) comprises a hollow (6) which extending in the longitudinal direction of the profile (8) and opening to the lower surface of the container, as well as a metal strip (7) arranged to be read in this hollow on the basis of its shape. 2. A lacing tool according to claim 1, characterized in that the material of the tallist (7) is more durable than the material of the metal profile (8). 3. A lacing tool according to claim 2, characterized in that the material of the metal profile (8) is made of an aluminum mixture and that the material of the metal mold (7) is made of steel, such as stainless steel or carbon steel, such as piano trees. 4. A lacing tool according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the hollow (6) and the metal strip (7) of the cross-section are round. 5. Snow gears according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the hollow (6) extends from one end of the reinforcement (5) to the other. A lacing tool according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the metal profile (8) is made by extrusion. 7. Snow gear according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in. t e c k n a t that the reinforcement (5) is arranged to be welded at the leading edge of; the container (2) of the implement (1) on the basis of its shape. * 1