Multi-purpose rake |
|||||||
申请号 | US10819837 | 申请日 | 2004-04-06 | 公开(公告)号 | US07111741B2 | 公开(公告)日 | 2006-09-26 |
申请人 | Joseph Bramante; | 发明人 | Joseph Bramante; | ||||
摘要 | The multi-purpose rake includes a rake head and a detachable pole for pulling the rake across a surface. The rake head has a frame with two arced end ribs, an upper and a lower crossbar extending between the end ribs. The upper crossbar has a sleeve or other attachment means extending therefrom for receiving and retaining one end of the pole. A wire mesh cage is formed into an arc to conform to the end ribs and is attached to the ribs and the upper and lower crossbar. In the preferred embodiment, the end ribs are formed from a continuous panel so that the ends of the rake head are fully closed. The detachable pole is preferably constructed in multiple sections that can be broken down for easy transport. Optional clips or other retainers may be disposed on the rake head for retaining the pole sections for easy transport and storage. An optional handhold can be provided for facilitating transport of the disassembled rake. | ||||||
权利要求 | What is claimed is: |
||||||
说明书全文 | The present invention relates to an apparatus and methods for removing litter and undesirable materials in outdoor settings such as parks, beaches, shorelines and the like. Recreational outings to the beach or shoreline can be disrupted or even ruined by injuries resulting from stepping on or otherwise coming in contact with a partially buried glass shard, fish hook, nail, shell fragment or other sharp object that can puncture unprotected skin. Such objects are typically very difficult to detect visually because they may be completely covered by thin layer of sand or soil, only to be revealed when a person's weight is applied directly on top of the object, when it is too late to avoid contact. While popular public beach areas may be maintained by periodically dragging a large rake across the sand using a tractor or similar motorized vehicle, such rakes capture only the largest objects such as driftwood, large pieces of seaweed, cans, plastic bags or newspapers, leaving behind smaller, sharp objects partially concealed as the sand is raked. Further, such methods can only be used in large, sandy open areas. For beaches that have large rocks protruding through the sand, or areas with scattered plant life, vehicle-drawn rakes cannot be used. Hand tools designed for sifting debris from sand and soil have been disclosed in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,690 describes a tapered wedge attached to a mesh cage. The wedge is pulled across the surface of the sand or soil by a handle so that wedge ramps debris into the mesh cage. Because the mesh case does not contact the ground, the wedge provides the bulk of the sifting function while the cage acts as a receptacle for holding the collected debris. The wedge tends to be rigid and is fairly bulky, making it rather inconvenient to transport the tool for use on a recreational outing that often involves the need to simultaneously transport toys, beach chairs, towels, picnic gear and other items from a vehicle to the destination. Another hand tool is the combination sand rake and shovel described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,122. The body of the shovel is a mesh material so that, after the head of the shovel is driven into the sand, the sand above the shovel is sifted as the shovel head is lifted upward. While the sifting action may be effective in filtering small objects, a great deal of energy must be expended to clean an area of a square meter or more. In view of the limitations of prior art devices, the need remains for a hand tool which can be easily transported for use during outings, and which can be used effectively to clean a large enough area to provide room to move about and play without requiring significant exertion by the user. The present invention is directed to such a tool. It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a multi-purpose rake that can be used to sift debris from sand, soil and water. It is another advantage of the present invention to provide a rake that can be easily assembled and disassembled to facilitate transportation to an outing site. In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention comprises a rake head and a detachable pole for pulling the rake across a surface. The rake head comprises a frame with two arced end ribs, an upper and a lower crossbar extending between the end ribs. The upper crossbar has a sleeve or other attachment means extending therefrom for receiving and retaining one end of the pole. A wire mesh cage is formed into an arc to conform to the end ribs and is attached to the ribs and the upper and lower crossbar. In the preferred embodiment, the end ribs are formed from a continuous panel so that the ends of the rake head are fully closed. In an alternate embodiment, the end ribs are strips of metal bent to form the arc with an end bar attached to the upper and lower cross-bar near the open end of the rake head. Additional porous material such as wire mesh or perforated metal sheet is attached to the end bars and the end ribs to enclose the sides of the rake head. The detachable pole is preferably constructed in multiple sections that can be broken down for easy transport. The sections may be telescoping so that the pole can be collapsed to a shorter length, or the pole may be constructed in separable sections. Means for attachment of the pole sections can be any fastener known in the art, including thumb screws, spring biased pop-up buttons mating with a corresponding hole, bayonet mounts, or mating male and female threaded ends. Similar means for attachment of the pole to the rake head may be used. In the preferred embodiment, the rake head includes clips or other fasteners to allow all components of the rake to be attached together for storage and to facilitate carrying the rake to an outing site such as a beach, campsite or playground. Understanding of the present invention will be facilitated by consideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts and in which: As illustrated in In an alternate embodiment shown in A center connector is preferably included to maintain the shape of the center of the rake head when resistance is experienced during use. In one embodiment, one or more center ribs with the same configuration as the end ribs can be attached to the upper and lower crossbars to reinforce the rake head and maintain its shape. Alternatively, the center rib may be a rectangular planar piece that extends across the open end of the rake head to join the upper crossbar 10 to the lower crossbar 12 but does not extend to fully span the cross-section of the rake head. In the preferred embodiment, a plastic band such as a cable tie 80, as shown in The detachable pole 4 is preferably constructed in multiple sections that can be broken down for easy transport. The sections may be telescoping so that the pole can be collapsed to a shorter length, or the pole may be constructed in separable sections. In the exemplary embodiment, the total pole length is on the order of 120 cm (˜48 in.), which may be reduced to about 60 cm (˜24 in.) when disassembled or collapsed. As illustrated in the embodiment of Similar means for attachment may be used for releasably attaching the pole 4 to the sleeve 14 mounted on rake head 2. For example, a spring-biased button 26 near the lower end of pole 4 is inserted into sleeve 14, which has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of lower section 46. A bore 27 formed in sleeve mates with button 26 when they are aligned so that button 26 is projected outward through bore 27, providing a releasable attachment between the pole 4 and rake head 2. In one embodiment, the rake head 2 may include optional screws, clips, straps, or other fasteners to allow all components of the rake to be attached together for storage and to facilitate carrying the rake to an outing site such as a beach, campsite or playground. As illustrated in To use the inventive rake, after transport to the outing site, the user removes the pole sections from their holder, extends the pole to its full length by assembling separate pieces or extending the telescoping sections, then attaches the lower end of the pole to the sleeve using the fastener. For example, if the sleeve and pole end have mating threads, the pole is screwed into the sleeve. If the pole has a spring-biased button, the pole end is inserted into the sleeve until the button is aligned with the designated opening in the sleeve. The head of the rake is placed at an area where activity it expected to occur. For example, if children will be making sand castles, the rake is dragged across the sandy area where they will be playing. If persons will be wading in shallow water, the rake can be placed on the ground under the water's edge then dragged upward, away from the water, or sideways, parallel to the shoreline, to remove hard or sharp objects on top of or embedded near the surface of the ground. The rake is also suitable for collecting plant material, such as accumulated algae or leaves, that may be unpleasant to touch and could conceal a hazard on the ground or under the water's surface, or floating debris such as bottles, papers or plastic bags. Typically, the rake will be pulled at an angle on the order of 30 to 45 degrees as the user moves away from the area being cleaned. Collected materials can be deposited in a garbage can, if available, or simply dragged to a collection point away from the area that is being used. After use, the rake can be disassembled and stored in its compact carrying configuration for transport at the end of the outing. The rake of the present invention may be used for a number of different applications involving the removal of objects from an area such as a playground, beach, shoreline, yard or other similar setting. The rake provides means for enhancing the safety of recreational locations and is configured for easy transport to such locations. The rake can also be used to remove plant material from shorelines, ponds and pools. It will be evident that there are additional embodiments which are not illustrated and/or described in the specification and drawings but which are clearly within the scope and spirit of the present invention. The foregoing description and accompanying drawings are, therefore, intended to be exemplary only, and the scope of the invention is to be limited solely by the appended claims. |