BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to tools for gathering and disposing of yard debris and other similar material.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

[0002] There are several types of commercially available rakes that can pick up gathered debris, such as leaves, grass cuttings, thatch, flower or plant clippings, even pine needles and cones, and deposit the debris into a collection bag or a wheelbarrow. For example, rakes comprising two rake heads operable to grasp debris are well known. One such rake is a combination of two rakes with their rake heads facing each other and their handles joined scissors style at a point somewhere along their handles. The rake heads are caused to close on the debris by forcing the handles towards each other. Another type of a rake comprises two rake heads, symmetrical in structure, mutually hinged and connected to a handle. The handle supports mechanism for opening and closing the two rake heads, which comprises a pair of cables connected to the rake heads which are pulled or slackened to open and close the rake heads. Yet another rake comprises a sleeve, a first tine head secured on the sleeve, a second tine head rotatably secured on the sleeve and rotatable from an open position to a folded position, and a means for rotating the second tine head towards the first tine head at the folded position. However, these prior art rakes are complicated and difficult to use, non-ergonomic, and also have low pick-up volumes.

[0003] It is an object of the present invention to mitigate or obviate at least one of the above-mentioned disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[(0004] In one of its aspects, there is provided a rake comprising:

a handle with an upper portion, an intermediate portion and a lower portion; a pair of oppositely disposed frames pivotally attached to said lower portion, said pair of oppositely disposed frames having a plurality of tines;

an articulating mechanism comprising:

a pair of brackets fixedly coupled to said lower portion; a pair of rods fixedly coupled to said pair of brackets;

a handle collar slidable on said handle, said handle collar coupled to a rod collar slidable on one of said pair of rods;

a pair of connector rods hingedly coupled between said collar and said pair of oppositely disposed frames;

whereby sliding said handle collar causes said rod collar to slide in sympathy and provides a force to said pair of connector rods to pivot said pair of oppositely disposed frames towards one other or away from one another.

[0005] In another of its aspects, there is provided a method of use of a rake for gathering material in a raking mode and a picking mode, the method comprising the steps of:

pivotally mounting a first rake head and a second rake head between an upper bracket and a lower bracket, said upper bracket being coupled to a handle;

articulating said first rake head and said second rake head for axial alignment there between to place said rake in said raking mode;

engaging a stop mechanism associated with said handle collar to maintain said rake in said raking mode;

disengaging said stop mechanism and articulating said first rake head and said second rake head to pivot said first rake head and said second rake head towards each other to place said rake in said picking mode.

[0006] Advantageously, the rake facilitates lifting and disposal of debris and provides an articulated frame structure having rake tines such that the articulated frame structure can be moved between an extended open position for the gathering of debris, and a pivoted position wherein the frame structure is pivoted to partially enclose the gathered debris for picking up of same. [0007] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Several preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

[0009] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a pivoting garden rake in an extended- open position, in one exemplary embodiment;

[0010] Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a pivoting garden rake in an partially closed position, in one exemplary embodiment; showing the functioning of articulating mechanism;

[0011] Figure 3 is a profile view of the rake of Figure 1 in a closed position, showing a mechanism for opening and closing an articulated frame, proximal and distal pivot brackets, front and rear fixed rods, sliding handle collar, auxiliary sliding rod collar, connecting members, connector rods, stop mechanism and tines;

[0012] Figure 4 is a transverse cross section bottom-up view of the rake of Figure 1 taken along line A- A' showing proximal pivot bracket with upper pivots discs, both apex of upper sections of rake heads, guiding sockets and guiding eyelets;

[0013] Figure 5 is a transverse cross section top-bottom view of the rake of Figure 1 taken along line B-B' showing distal bracket with the lower pivots discs, connector rods with spherical endings, connector ball sockets, rod collar with attached circular openings for ball sockets and attached circular openings for coupling connecting members, proximal end and free distal end of lower section of rake heads with circular openings and curved cross section tines;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention herein makes reference to the accompanying block diagrams and schematic diagrams, which show the exemplary embodiment by way of illustration and its best mode. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented.

[0015] Moreover, it should be appreciated that the particular implementations shown and described herein are illustrative of the invention and its best mode and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

[0016] More particularly, in one exemplary embodiment of the invention, there is provided a pivoting rake frame comprising an elongated handle with a proximal and a distal end. An articulated frame structure having tines is attached to the distal end of the handle for articulated movement between extended-open and the enclosed positions about two axis of articulation or pivoting axis coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the handle. An articulating assembly comprising a set of two pivot brackets with two fixed rods attached to the handle at the distal end allows for the pivoting of the articulated frame structure. A stop mechanism allows the articulated frame structure to remain in an extended-open position for gathering of debris.

[0017] With reference to Figure 1, there is shown a rake, generally designated by the numeral 10, in one exemplary embodiment. The rake 10 comprises an elongate handle 12 with an upper portion 14, an intermediate portion 16 and a lower portion 18.

Pivotally attached to lower portion 18 is an articulated frame structure 19 comprising a pair of oppositely disposed rake heads 20, 22, which includes an upper section 28, 30 and a lower section 32, 34, having a plurality of tines 24, 26, secured to the lower section of rake heads 32, 34. Tines 24, 26 are suitably dimensioned and separated for gathering yard debris, such as, leaves, grass cuttings, thatch, flower or plant clippings, even pine needles and cones. Accordingly, tines 24, 26 are equally spaced apart and have a generally curved cross section for improved strength and durability. Fixedly coupled to lower portion 18 is articulating mechanism 27 actuated to cause rake heads 20, 22 to move, thereby placing rake 10 in a raking mode for gathering debris, or a picking mode for grasping and picking up and/or transporting the debris.

[0018] As shown in Figures 2, and 3 articulating mechanism 27 comprises a pair of rods 36, 38, fixedly attached between upper pivot bracket 40 coupled to lower portion 18 of handle 12 on outer face 41, and a lower pivot bracket 42. The rods 36, 38 fulfill a dual function of an extension to the handle and a guide for auxiliary rod collar 74, which is coupled to handle collar 90 by connecting members 100, 102 and said rod collar is also coupled to connector rods 72, 76, said connector rods hingedly attached to rod collar and lower section of rake heads 32, 34. Sliding upward motion on handle 90 provides the force to rod collar to slide upward in sympathy and to induce the rotation toward each other of oppositely disposed rake heads.

[0019] As shown in Figure 4 rods 36, 38 are received by guiding sockets 43a, 43b formed in upper pivot bracket 40, and guiding sockets 43c, 43d (not shown) formed in lower pivot bracket 42 (not shown). Connecting members 100, 102 pass through guiding eyelets 45a, 45b on upper bracket 40. Upper section of rake head 28 comprises an apex end 44 with a pivot 46 for rotational movement within socket 47 (not shown) formed on inner face 48 of bracket 40. Correspondingly, upper section of head rake 30 comprises an apex end 50 with a pivot 52 for rotational movement within socket 53 (not shown) in bracket 40. Pivots 46, 52 are coupled to upper section of rake head 28, 30 via linking arms 55, 56 respectively.

[0020] Now looking at Figure 5, there is shown lower section of rake heads 32, 34 of the articulated frame structure 19. Lower section of rake head 32 comprises a proximal end 60 with a pivot 62 for rotational movement within socket 63 (not shown) of bracket 42, and a free distal end 64. Correspondingly, lower section of rake head 34 comprises a proximal end 66 with pivot 68 for rotational movement within socket 69 (not shown) of the bracket 42, and a free distal end 70. Connector rod 72 is hingedly attached between rod collar 74 slidable on rod 38 and midpoint of lower section of rake head 32, through ball connectors 80, 84 while connector rod 76 is also hingedly attached between rod collar 74 and midpoint of lower section of rake head 34, through ball connectors 82, 86. Ball connectors 80, 82 pass through circular openings 126, 128 in rod collar 74, whereby they freely rotate, and ball connectors 84, 86 pass through circular openings 168, 170 about midpoint of lower section of rake heads 32, 34, whereby they freely rotate. Also rod collar 74 comprises a pair of circular openings 134, 136 for fixedly coupling connecting members 100, 102. The sliding motion of rod collar 74 provides a force that causes connector rods 72, 76 to induce rotation of pivots 62, 68 within sockets 63, 69 (not shown). By virtue of upper section of rake heads 28, 30 being part of rake heads 20, 22, upper section of rake heads 28, 30 are forced to rotate in sympathy, and pivots 46, 52 are induced to rotate within sockets 47, 53.

[0020] As can be seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3 the rest of the articulating mechanism 27 comprises a handle collar 90 slidably attached to handle 12. In operation, handle collar 90 is grasped by a user to provide a longitudinal force to translate the handle collar 90 along handle 12 between lower portion 18 and intermediate portion 16. A pair of connecting members 100, 102 are coupled between handle collar 90 and rod collar 74, such that the sliding motion of handle collar 90 is also translated to rod collar 74 to cause angular motion of connector rods 72, 76 towards bracket 40, thereby forcing rake heads 20, 22 to pivot. Pivots 46 and 52, including pivots 62 and 68, co-operate with each other such that rake heads 20, 22 are generally axially aligned corresponding to a raking mode; and also co-operate with each other to pivot rake heads 20, 22 into an angled configuration corresponding to a picking mode to cage the gathered material for pick up and transport.

[0021] Also part of the articulating mechanism 27 is a stop mechanism 92, which can be engaged to allow the articulated frame structure 19 to remain rigid and extended open, or disengaged to allow the pair of oppositely disposed rake heads 20, 22 to pivot or rotate when required. The stop mechanism 92 is attached to the handle collar and includes a stop wedge 94 and flexible lip 96 actuable to engage and disengage with a notch 97 (not shown) within intermediate portion 16 of handle.

[0022] Now looking again at Figure 5, bracket 42 is a substantially flat diamond- shaped plate, with guiding sockets 43c, 43d formed therewith adjacent one pair of opposing vertices. As noted above, guiding sockets 43c, 43d receive rods 36 and 38 which are fixedly connected to upper pivot bracket 40. Formed adjacent the other pair of opposing vertices are sockets 63, 69 (not shown) for rotational mounting of pivots 62, 68. Rod collar 74 includes a pair of circular openings 126, 128 on opposite sides of outer wall of rod collar 74.

[0023] Pivots 62, 68 are linked to lower section of rake heads 32, 34 via linking arms 138, 140, respectively. Linking arms 138, 140 join inner faces 150, 152 at an angle less than 90 degrees such that lower section of rakes heads 32, 34 abut each other at an angle. Tines 24, 26 are secured between inner faces 150, 152 and outer faces 154, 156 of lower section of head rakes 32, 34, and tines 24, 26 are arched with apex 158, 160 facing outer faces 154, 156, and intrados 162, 164 facing inner faces 150, 152. About halfway of lower section of head rakes 32, 34 are circular openings 168, 170. Connector rods 72, 76 also have spherical endings 176, 178 at one end, and spherical endings 180, 182 at another end. Spherical endings 176, 178 are received by connector sockets a 84, 86 which hingedly pass through circular openings 168, 170 on lower section of rake heads 32, 34, while spherical endings 180, 182 are received by connector sockets 80, 82 which hingedly pass through circular openings 126, 128 on rod collar 74.

[0024] As shown in Figure 2 when stop mechanism 92 is disengaged rake heads 20, 22 are able to pivot or rotate toward each other. Accordingly, sliding handle collar 90 is manually operated by applying an axial force which causes the rake heads 20, 22 to encase the gathered debris in order to grasp and lift the gathered debris, in a transport mode. The force is applied until the debris has been securely grasped between tines 24, 26 of now angled rake heads 20, 22. Therefore, when raking mode is desired, stop mechanism 92 may be engaged to allow the articulated frame structure 19 to remain rigid and extended open, with pair of oppositely disposed rake heads 20, 22 at substantially 180 degrees to each other. For transport mode, stop mechanism 92 is disengaged by applying a force on flexible lip attached to handle collar to release the wedge from notch in intermediate portion of handle.

[0025] A process for transforming rake 10 from a raking mode configuration to a transport mode configuration will now be described. In raking mode configuration as shown in Figures 1 and 3, rake heads 20, 22 are generally axially aligned, such that lower arms 32, 34 abut each other at an angle, and likewise upper section of rake heads 28, 30 abut each other at an angle. Stop mechanism 92 is engaged to allow the articulated frame structure 19 to remain rigid and extended open while raking material. Handle collar 90 is disposed adjacent to lower portion 18 of handle 12, with connector rods 72, 76 being substantially parallel to bottom bracket 42.

[0026] When raked material has been placed in a pile and ready for transport, stop mechanism 92 is disengaged and sliding handle collar 90 is manually operated. Handle collar 90 is grasped by a user's hand and a force is applied to displace handle collar 90 away from lower portion 18 of handle 12 towards intermediate portion 16, and that longitudinal force is translated to rod collar 74 to cause angular motion of connector rods 72, 76 towards upper bracket 40. As connector rods 72, 76 are hingedly connected between rod collar 74 and midpoint of lower section of rake heads 32, 34, the applied force pulls on lower section of rake heads 32, 34 such that pivot 62 rotates in an anticlockwise fashion, while pivot 68 rotates in an clockwise fashion. The rotating pivots 62, 68 allow rake heads 20, 22 to rotate in step with one another. Pivots 62, 68 continue to rotate in sockets 63, 69, and by virtue of upper section of rake head 28, 30 being part of rake heads 20, 22, the upper section of rake head 28, 30 are forced to rotate in sympathy, and pivots 46, 52 are induced to rotate within sockets 47, 53.

[0027] The preceding detailed description of exemplary embodiment of the invention makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show the exemplary embodiment by way of illustration. While this exemplary embodiment is described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process claims may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented. Thus, the preceding detailed description is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation, and the scope of the invention is defined by the preceding description, and with respect to the attached claims.