| 摘要 |
A self-cleaning rake. In a preferred embodiment, a rake assembly couples to a conventional broom, mop, or other conventional yard implement handle. The rake handle attaches to a receiver in the header of the rake assembly. An operator uses a sliding, hand operated actuator that is coupled to a spreader by a link. In the preferred embodiment, the actuator exteriorly captivates a portion of the rake handle. In an alternative embodiment, my self-cleaning rake uses an interior actuator that is housed inside the rake handle. The rake handle also houses a substantial portion of the link. A hand grip protrudes from the side of the rake handle to facilitate operator manipulation of the actuator. The operator moves the actuator longitudinally along the rake handle. The longitudinal movement of the actuator forces the spreader to slide longitudinally along the rake tines to remove debris from the tines. The tines pivot inside a flange to move radially as the spreader moves longitudinally. The flange extends from the header, defining a casing that captivates a terminal end of the tines. A guide in the header supports the link while restricting its longitudinal range of movement. The guide also temporarily frictionally locks the spreader into a stored or retracted position that permits the rake to be conventionally used. The spaced apart raking ends of the tines assist the movement of the link into a locking engagement.
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