The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 16, 2003
Filed:
Jul. 27, 2001
Richard C. Shonfeld, Brooklyn, NY (US);
James J. Best, Weehawken, NJ (US);
Daniel J. Formosa, Montvale, NJ (US);
Conor P. McNamara, Brooklyn, NY (US);
Marco C. Perry, Brooklyn, NY (US);
WKI Holding Company, Inc., Reston, VA (US);
Abstract
A garden tool includes a work-engaging head joined by a shank to a plastic handle. The handle has a relatively rigid plastic core body. A cavity is formed in the handle to divide it into forward and rearward portions. The cavity is filled with a flexible and resilient material to accommodate flexing of the rearward portion relative to the forward portion. A flexible and resilient gripping sheath covers the outer surface of the core body except for the cavity. In one embodiment the cavity is in the core body and includes a notch. For digging tools, such as trowels, the notch is formed on the lower side of the core body adjacent to the distal end, while for pulling or raking tools, such as plows, the notch is formed on the upper side of the core body adjacent to the working end. A recess may be formed in the core body opposite the notch for cooperation with the notch to define a narrow hinge. In another embodiment the cavity includes an aperture extending laterally through a lobe extension of the grip sheath, and in yet in another embodiment the cavity includes notches formed on upper and lower sides of the core body and defined by a hinge interconnecting the forward and rearward portions of the handle.