Snow shovel expander

Abstract

An extra wide snow shovel blade which may be affixed to existing, narrower conventional snow shovels. This is accomplished very quickly by simply inserting the blade of the conventional snow shovel into the “V” shaped pocket on the back of the extra wide snow shovel blade, and then looping the elastic cord around the back of the shaft of the conventional shovel and hooking it to the eye bolt on the front of the blade.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application is a continuation application of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61 / 000,508, filed Oct. 26, 2007, by Thomas Leo Williams, included by reference herein and for which benefit of the priority date is hereby claimed.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to snow shovels and, more particularly, to a wider attachable shovel blade to expand the width of conventional snow shovels.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]When removing snow manually from driveways, sidewalks etc, the amount of effort required varies depending on the consistency and depth of the snow. Lighter snowfalls require less effort than heavy snowfalls. Most snow shovels range from 18″ to 24″ wide; the narrower the shovel, the easier it is to remove heavier amounts of snow. A much wider shovel may be used for lighter snowfalls, with the extra width reducing the number of passes and thus the amount of time to clear an area; unfortunately, this type...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]It would be advantageous to provide a wider snow shovel blade which may be used as an add-on device to expand the width of narrower, conventional snow shovels.

[0009]It would also be advantageous to provide such a device which may be connected in a few seconds without tools.

[0010]It would further be advantageous to provide such a device which has a low manufacturing cost.

Problems solved by technology

A much wider shovel may be used for lighter snowfalls, with the extra width reducing the number of passes and thus the amount of time to clear an area; unfortunately, this type of shovel is not suited to heavier snowfalls.

Ideally, when clearing snow it would be advantageous to have both a narrow snow shovel and an extra wide snow shovel to choose from; the drawback with that solution is the extra expense of purchasing two separate shovels.

Drawbacks to this device include the time required to change over the blade arrangement, and the use of lock pins which are easily lost and hard to use in cold weather.

Drawbacks to this device include the lock pins as described above, and the use of two handles which are not suited to the lifting of snow.

The primary drawback to this device is the manufacturing cost would be higher than the cost to produce two separate shovels; also the two handles, even when connected by a handlebar, are not suited to the lifting of snow.

The most common disadvantage of the prior art is, all of the devices are self-contained units which are somewhat complex and have relatively high manufacturing costs vs the cost to purchase two separate snow shovels.

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