Thermal ice scraper

Abstract

A thermal ice scraper includes a body portion, a blade portion, and a heatable material in the body portion that can heat the edges of the blade portion. The body and blade portions may be permanently or removably attached, and a conductive element may be included to aid in transferring heat to the edges of the blade portion. When in use, the body portion is heated in a microwave oven, causing the heatable material to become hot. This heat is then transferred to the edges of the blade portion. The thermal ice scraper is held in a hand and used to scrape a smooth surface, such as an automobile windshield. The blade portion allows multi-directional usage of the scraper, and the heat along the edges of the blade portion facilitates the removal of frost, ice, or snow. The body portion comfortably accommodates the hand.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates generally to windshield ice scrapers and, more particularly, to a thermal ice scraper that may be heated in a microwave oven to facilitate the removal of frost, ice, or snow from a smooth surface such as an automobile windshield. [0002] The standard method of removing ice and frost from automobile windshields involves chipping away at the ice with a flat plastic ice scraper that is difficult to hold and ineffective on thick ice. Many people use a de-icing spray to weaken the ice, but this can be expensive and sometimes messy. There is a very high demand for new and innovative means of removing ice and frost from automobile windshields, and car owners everywhere would welcome any improvement made to the standard ice scraper. [0003] Some improved models, however, have other drawbacks. Electric heated ice scrapers are known in the art, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,679, U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,425, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,176, but ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006] A thermal ice scraper for use in cleaning frozen precipitation from automobile windshields according to the present invention includes a body portion, a blade portion, and a heatable material in the body portion that can heat the edges of the blade portion. When in use, the thermal ice scraper is heated in a microwave oven, causing the heatable material in the body portion to become hot and transfer heat to the edges of the blade portion. The thermal ice scraper is then held in a hand and used to scrape a smooth surface, such as an automobile windshield. The heat along the edges of the blade portion facilitates the removal of frost, ice, or snow while the body portion comfortably accommodates the hand and the blade portion allows multi-directional usage of the scraper. The body and blade portions may be permanently or removably attached, and a conductive element may be included to aid in transferring heat to the edges of the blade portion. The thermal ice scraper further includes a vacuum air space for insulating the body portion to keep the hand from being burned.

[0007] Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide an ice scraper that can retain heat and transfer the heat to the edges of a blade portion to facilitate snow and ice removal.

[0010] Yet another object of this invention is to provide an ice scraper, as aforesaid, that has good scraping characteristics.

[0011] A further object of this invention is to provide an ice scraper, as aforesaid, that is ergonomic and easy to use.

[0012] A still further object of this invention is to provide an ice scraper, as aforesaid, that can be conveniently stored in vehicles.

Problems solved by technology

The standard method of removing ice and frost from automobile windshields involves chipping away at the ice with a flat plastic ice scraper that is difficult to hold and ineffective on thick ice.

Many people use a de-icing spray to weaken the ice, but this can be expensive and sometimes messy.

Some improved models, however, have other drawbacks.

Electric heated ice scrapers are known in the art, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,679, U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,425, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,176, but they require electricity from the automobile, are sometimes difficult or cumbersome to use, and are often expensive.

Other electric heated ice scrapers are battery operated, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,646, but batteries are expensive and can leak, which causes safety concerns and can potentially ruin the scrapers.

Additionally, other products that improve upon the standard ice scraper by adding features such as a snow brush or a squeegee are usually too large to conveniently store in the vehicle, too expensive, or simply not useful.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,257 uses a microwave-heatable material placed directly on a windshield to defrost the windshield, but it has poor scraping characteristics; when its material cools off from use, it must be reheated in the microwave to continue clearing the windshield.

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