Background Art Conventional shovels are not capable of accurately measuring predetermined volumes. However, recipes for cement mixtures and other compositions are specified by volume. Therefore, mixtures made by different individuals, purportedly using the same volumes, are inconsi tent.

Disclosure of the Invention Accordingly, a head for a gauging shovel is provided. The head comprises tapering side walls between which extend, a rear wall, a bottom and a lip; the side walls, lip and rear wall each having a top edge, which edges define an opening, which edges each lie in the same plane; the lip further comprising a top surface and a back surface; the lip terminating in a blade-like front edge.

Brief Description of Drawings Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a head for a gauging shovel made in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a side elevation of a head for a gauging shovel made in accordance with the teachings of the. present invention.

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a shovel according to the present invention.

Figure 4 shows a sheet metal blank from which a shovel head can be made.

Modes For Carrying Out the Invention As shown in Figure 1, a head for a gauging shovel 10 includes tapering, upright side walls 11. The side walls 11 taper from a maximum depth at the rear of the shovel head 12 to a minimum depth 13 at the front of the measuring compartment 14. The upright side walls 11 need not be perpendicular to the bottom of the compartment, but are preferably steep to increase the volume of the compartment for a given head size. A tubular sleeve 15 is affixed to the rear wall 16 of the head, for attaching a handle. A raised lip 17 extends across the front of the measuring compartment 14. The lip includes a blade-like front edge 18, an inclined

front face 19 and a rear face 20 which cooperates with the side walls 11 and an inclined rear wall 16 for retaining the contents of the measuring compartment 14. Note that the top of the shovel opening as defined by edges a', b', c' and d ¹ is flat. The bottom 21 of the head is also preferably flat.

The lip 17 may be formed from a variety of different materials and according to a variety of fabricating techniques. The lip may be a solid integrally formed with or welded to a metallic head, or alternately formed in sheet metal, either integral with or separately attached to the head of the present invention. The shovel head may be fabricated as a cast, forged, stamped or bent metal construction or made from cast or moulded polymers, depending on the severity of the application and desired useful life of the product.

A particular configuration for a gauging shovel, in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, is shown in Figure 2. With reference to Figure 2, the length "1" of the lip is 3cm. The length "L" of the measuring compartment is 20cm. The height "h" of the lip is 2cm. The distance "H" from the top of the lip to the top of the head is 6cm. In the example of Figure 2, the blade angle "a" is 33°. The rear wall 20 of the lip is perpendicular to the bottom 21 of the head. The angle "b" between the front face 19 and the rear face 20 of the lip is 57°. The taper angle "c" of the side wall 11 is 17°. The back wall 16 of the head is perpendicular to the bottom 21. The angle "d" between the tapered top edge 22 and the back wall 16 is 73°. The side walls 11 are perpendicular to the bottom 21. It will be appreciated that in accordance with the aforestated measurements and dimensions, a head of such a profile in a width of 20cm would result in a measuring compartment 14 volume of about 2,000 cubic cm.

It should be noted that a variety of lip 17 configurations are possible depending on the qualities of the material which is being handled. In particular, the blade angle "a" and angle of inclination of the rear wall 20 with respect to the bottom 21 of the head may be tailored to suit the specific material being handled. As shown in Figure 1, the rear wall 20 of the lip may form an obtuse angle with respect to the bottom

A shovel 30 according to the teachings of the present invention is shown in Fig. 3. The shovel includes a conventional handle 31. The head 32 of the shovel has been formed, in part, from a flat sheet metal blank. Again, note that the top edges of the lip, side and back walls defines an opening whose edges a ¹ , b\ c' and d' are in the same plane. To faci litate leveling of the contents., a gusset 33 has been formed between the sleeve 34 and the rear edge a ¹ of the head opening. This feature prevents the rear edge a' from being bumped when the head is drawn under and past a leveling device or edge such as a flat board or blade. The sleeve 34, gusset 33 and attachment plate 35 may be fabricated as a unit.

The shovel head 32 depicted in Fig. 3 can be formed from a single flat blank as shown in Fig. 4. The bottom side edges 36 are folded to about 90°. The back edge 37 of the lip is folded up to about 118.5°. The front edge 38 of. the lip is then folded down about 105" so that the top surface 39 is in the plane of the top edges a', b', c', d'. The back side radius r is about 38.5 mm. The length of the top side, including the lip is about 370 mm. The width of the opening a' or c' is about 250 mm. The taper angle A of the sides is about 13.5°. The length L' of the lip top surface is about 74 mm. The sheet metal from which the head is formed is preferably 1.6 mm thick. It should be understood that these measurements have been provided only as an example. Once the necessary bending of the blank has been accomplished, continuous fillet welds are used to join adjacent edges and butt joints. The welds may be ground smooth. The head may be primed and painted, if required.

It has been found that when a gauging head made in accordance with the teachings of the present invention is inserted into a mass or pile of, for example, powdered, granular or particulate material and then withdrawn, the material in the measuring compartment 14 tends to be consistently retained by the shape of the compartment 14. In this way, the volume in each scoop is relatively uniform. Where even greater consistency is desired, the top edges of the head can be drawn beneath a flat plank, edge or blade so as to precisely level the contents of the measuring compartment.

While the gauging head of the present invention has been described with reference to particular materials, constructions and configurations, it should be understood that these are provided by way of example and not as limitations to the scope or spirit of the claims.

Industrial Applicability A gauging shovel head can be readily utilized in the building, construction and agricultural fields to repeatedly meter uniform amounts of, for example, powdered, granular or particulate materials.