GB1423159A - Folding shovel - Google Patents

Abstract

1423159 Shovels SPEAR & JACKSON (TOOLS) Ltd 21 March 1973 [19 Dec 1972] 58491/72 Heading A1B [Also in Division B4] A folding shovel comprises a tubular shaft 10 which is open at one end and has a hilt at its other end, a shovel blade 20 having a hollow open-ended shank 18, and a yielding connection between the shaft and the hollow shank which urges them into a position where their open ends abut and surround a tube 42 joined to and projecting from the open end of either the shaft or the shank, the said yielding connection being formed by a tension spring 24 which is anchored to and lies mainly or entirely within the hollow shank of the blade, and a chain or other flexible linkage 16 which lies mainly or entirely within the tubular shaft so that the hollow shank and the tubular shaft can be pulled apart, without breaking the yielding connection between them, and laid or folded one against the other as shown in Fig. 4. As shown the tubular handle shaft 10 has a second spring 22, the two springs being connected by a short length of chain 38 and the shaft 10 has a tubular sleeve 42 welded in its open end which fits snugly into the upper mouth portion of the blade shank 18. The handle 12 of the shovel may be e.g. of polypropylene and the shaft 10 which may be of steel or aluminium alloy may be covered externally with a thin adhering sleeve of e.g. PVC. In an alternative embodiment (Figs. 5-8 not shown) a manually releasable latch engages port of a tubular sleeve which projects from the blade shank to hold the two components in the working position. Release of the latch allows the blade part to be pulled from the handle shaft and the shovel folded.