Bucket holding and tipping device

Abstract

A bucket holding and tipping device with an adjustably movable cinching band on which are engaged one or more foot plates. On each plate, the band passes through slots in the plates and the plates are adapted to receive in pressing relationship the bottom of a human foot. Each plate also has a handle opening in the plate.

Claims

1. A bucket holding and tipping device comprising an adjustably movable cinching band having a circumference on which are engaged one or more handle/foot plates, the band passing through slots in the plates, the plates adapted to receive in pressing relationship the bottom of a human foot, each plate further comprising a handle opening in the plate.

2. The device of claim 1 where the handle/foot plate is movable on the band in degrees around the circumference of the band.

3. The device of claim 1 where the handle/foot plates on the cinching band are movable up and down on a bucket.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the number of handle/foot plates on the cinching band is two or more.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the number of handle/foot plates on the cinching band is two or more.

6. The device of claim 1 further comprising a fixed combination handle/foot plate.

7. A bucket holding and. tipping device comprising a first movable cinching band and a second movable cinching band, each hand having engaged therewith its own handle/foot plate, each respective hand passing through slots in the respective plates, the plates adapted to receive in pressing relationship the bottom of a human foot, each plate further comprising a handle opening in the plate.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein either or both of the cinching bands are selectably movable up and down.

9. The device of claim 7 wherein the number of movable combination handle/foot plates on either or both cinching bands two or more.

10. The device of claim 7 further comprising a fixed combination handle/foot plate.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a component of the device.

(2) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device attached to a bucket.

(3) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the device attached to the bucket in an alternate configuration.

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the device showing an alternate means of attachment to a bucket.

(5) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the device in a horizontal position attached to the bucket.

(6) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the device in a vertical (or up) position on the bucket.

(7) FIG. 7 is a side view of the device's auxiliary handle function being engaged to tip the bucket.

(8) FIG. 8 is a side view of the device's foot lever being engaged to secure, or hold down, the bucket.

(9) FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a traction detail for a foot pedal gripping surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(10) In FIGS. 1-3 a one-piece handle and foot pedal component 2 has slots 17 through which cinching band 16 (such as adjustable steel) passes to attach component 2 to bucket 1. Conventional screw clamp mechanism 20 is mounted to cinching band 16 for tightening or loosening the band on bucket 1. Component 2 has handle portion (opening) 12 and pedal portion 13.

(11) FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate schematically the variety of positions and arrangements of cinching band 16 and handle and foot pedal component 2 (or alternate T-shaped pedal/handle). There may be multiple bands spaced vertically on the bucket, each band holding one or more (combination) handle and foot pedal components (as the combination of FIGS. 2 and 3 suggest, one high, one low). This variety of position and arrangement ranges from one combination handle/foot pedal cinched low on the bucket to two or more cinched high on the bucket, with combinations and single arrangements everywhere in between.

(12) In FIG. 4, handle and foot pedal component 2 is attached to bucket 1 by screws 3 that pass through holes 4 in component 2 and into attachment plate 5 that is placed inside bucket 1. Attachment plate 5 has reinforced elevated elements 6 on the surface of the attachment plate where the screws attach to increase the holding power of the screws and ensure a stronger bond of component 2 to the bucket.

(13) FIGS. 5-9, a hinged pedal has pivoting member 10 and fixed member 11. Pivoting member 10 has handle opening 12 and raised lines in the form of inverted grooves on pedal 13 to enhance friction and grip when pivoting member 10 is used as a foot pedal. Adjustable steel band 16 passes through slots 14 in fixed member 11 in order to attach the hinged pedal to a bucket. A screw clamp mechanism is mounted to the steel band for tightening or loosening band 16 on the bucket.

(14) FIGS. 5 and 8 show pedal in down position for when pedal is in use to stabilize bucket 1. FIG. 9 illustrates an alternate traction detail 24 for foot pedal 13.

(15) There are many alternative embodiments for the disclosed holding and tipping device. Handle and foot pedal component 2 shown in FIGS. 1-4, may be made of any suitably rigid material, including plastic, metal, rubber, wood, or a combination of these materials; the component may be molded or formed as a unitary piece or it may be bonded together using fasteners or other bonding agents. The disclosed device may take a variety of forms including a T-shape, a cutout or cutouts in the form of one or more finger loop or loops, a curved, scooped, or hollowed-out form to provide a gripping surface without a cutout, among many other variations.

(16) Handle and foot pedal component 2 shown in FIG. 4 may be attached to a bucket using two or more screws or other fasteners, a bonding agent such as glue or tape, or by a combination of screws/fasteners and a bonding agent. The disclosed device may omit the use an attachment plate in a bucket's interior if a bonding agent such as glue or tape is used without the use of screws or other fasteners. One-piece attachment plate 5 (FIG. 4) may be composed instead of two or more smaller plates. The attachment plate may use washers, O-rings, or similar components to prevent leakage through holes formed in a bucket and through which the screws or fasteners pass. The hinged pedal may be made of any suitably rigid material, including plastic, metal, rubber, wood, or a combination of these materials. In lieu of steel band 16, handle and foot pedal component 2 or the hinged pedal 13 may be attached to the bucket with other suitably stretch-resistant materials including nylon or plastic banding, webbing, or cording.

(17) Alternate clamping elements for the handle and foot pedal component or the hinged component include conventional ratcheting mechanisms and various conventional latches including toggle-hook, draw, and compression latches.

(18) The hinge mechanism may also take many different forms; for example, it may pivot on a single pin, similar to a common door hinge, or it may use two or more pins or two or more pin-type structures that include rivets and screws. Many different configurations of the torsion spring, which provides the spring-loaded functionality for the lever, are possible, and generally include any configuration that leverages the power of a coiled spring to return the lever to an upright position on a bucket. In lieu of a torsion spring, the pivoting member may be held in an upright position on the bucket in a variety of other ways, for example, by tooth or tine on the arm or arms of the pivoting member that fits into a notch or notches in the rounded cutout or cutouts of the fixed member that are aligned in such a way as to lock the hinged component in an upright position.

(19) In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown, since the means and construction shown comprise preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of the appended claims, appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.