Ice auger assembly incorporating an ice reaming blade

1. An ice hole reaming assembly in combination with an ice auger having a central shaft with an upper end and a lower end, a helical blade affixed along an inside edge to the central shaft and extending outwardly therefrom, a concave split ring affixed about the lower end of the central shaft, an ice cutting blade reversibly attached to a leading edge of the split ring, and a vertically oriented ice penetrating blade affixed to the lower end of the central shaft, said ice hole reaming assembly comprising:

a series of cutouts along the inside edge of the helical blade, said cutouts in vertical alignment forming a channel adjacent to the central shaft;

a cylindrical receptacle having an upper rim and a floor securely affixed to the central shaft beneath the channel near the lower end of the central shaft;

a rod disposed within said channel and extending substantially the length of the central shaft, said rod having a first end and a second end, said second end being disposed in the receptacle such that the rod is supported therein, said rod being parallel to and in spaced relation with the central shaft, a portion of the first end of the rod extending above the channel being bent into a right angle said bent portion forming a handle;

an ice reaming blade having a top edge, a bottom edge, front and back surfaces, a rear edge and a forward angled cutting edge, said ice reaming blade being securely attached to the rod above the upper rim of the receptacle, said attachment to the rod being along the back surface adjacent to the rear edge, said ice reaming blade extending outwardly from the rod so as to be positioned directly beneath and in the same plane as the handle, and said ice reaming blade having a rest position wherein it does not extend beyond the split ring and a use position wherein the ice reaming blade extends outwardly beyond the split ring to ream the ice hole;

a retaining loop affixed to the central shaft above the top edge of the ice reaming blade and encircling said rod, the rod being freely rotatable within the retaining loop, said retaining loop to maintain the rod in vertical orientation adjacent to the central shaft and to prevent the rod from being lifted out of the receptacle; and

a latch assembly affixed to the central shaft substantially at the level of the handle and positioned such that when the handle is engaged in the latch assembly the ice reaming blade is in the rest position and when the handle is released from latch assembly the rod rotates and the ice reaming blade is moved to the use position;

whereby the ice hole can be drilled and reamed in one operation while the auger is activated.

2. An ice hole reaming assembly as described in claim 1 wherein the ice reaming blade is attached to the rod by welding.

3. An ice hole reaming assembly as described in claim 1 wherein the ice reaming blade is attached to the rod by an attachment assembly comprising:

a vertical recess in a side of the rod dimensioned to accept the back surface of the ice reaming blade adjacent to its rear edge, two threaded holes in the rod, one above the other, within said recess, two holes in the ice reaming blade situated to communicate with the two threaded holes in the rod, and two screws for passage through the holes in the ice reaming blade and for cooperation with the two threaded holes in the rod.

4. An ice hole reaming assembly as described in claim 3 wherein the two screws have flat heads.

5. An ice hole reaming assembly as described in claim 4 further comprising countersinks in the front surface of the ice reaming blade surrounding the two holes such that when the screws are fully seated through the holes in the ice reaming blade and into the threaded holes in the rod the flat heads of the screws are flush with the front surface of the ice reaming blade.

6. An ice hole reaming assembly as described in claim 1 wherein the forward angled cutting edge of the ice reaming blade has a concavity at a point substantially one third of the distance from the bottom edge.

7. An ice hole reaming assembly as described in claim 1 wherein the forward angled cutting edge of the ice reaming blade forms an apex with the bottom edge and said apex is rounded.

8. An ice hole reaming assembly as described in claim 1 wherein the forward angled cutting edge of the ice reaming blade forms an apex with the bottom edge and a stop tab is formed at said apex.

9. An ice hole reaming assembly as described in claim 1 wherein the forward angled cutting edge of the ice reaming blade forms an angle of between 40° and 45° with the bottom edge.

10. An ice hole reaming assembly as described in claim 1 further comprising at least two vertical stabilizing posts equidistantly arranged about the central shaft, a first post affixed between the split ring and the helical blade along outside edges thereof and disposed radially outward from the retaining loop such that when the ice reaming blade is in the use position the first post functions as a stop to prevent further rotation of said ice reaming blade and to support said ice reaming blade, and at least one second stabilizing post affixed between two portions of the helical blade along outside edges thereof, whereby the stabilizing posts provide stability to the ice auger and prevent wobble during operation.

11. An ice hole reaming assembly as described in claim 1 further comprising an opening in the floor of the receptacle for drainage and to prevent the rod from freezing in place.

12. An ice hole reaming assembly as described in claim 1 wherein the latch assembly includes a spring biased activation bar to enable a user to release the handle in a single motion and re-engage the handle also in a single motion while the auger is activated.

13. An ice hole reaming assembly as described in claim 1 wherein the ice reaming blade traverses through an angle of substantially 180° between the rest position and the use position.

14. An ice hole reaming assembly as described in claim 1 further comprising a rod retaining means in vertical alignment with said retaining loop and disposed near the upper end of the central shaft below the latch assembly for maintaining proper alignment and providing support to the first end of said rod, said rod being freely rotatable therewithin.

15. An ice auger including an ice hole reaming blade for use in cutting a hole in the ice and reaming the bottom edge of the ice hole, said ice auger comprising:

a central shaft having an upper end and a lower end;

a helical blade having an inside edge and an outside edge and being affixed to the central shaft along the inside edge, and a series of cutouts along the inside edge, said cutouts being in vertical alignment forming a channel adjacent to the central shaft;

a concave split ring affixed about the lower end of the central shaft and having a leading edge and a following edge;

an ice cutting blade reversibly attached to the leading edge of the split ring;

a vertically oriented ice penetrating blade affixed to the lower end of the central shaft and extending therebeyond;

a cylindrical receptacle having an upper rim and a floor securely affixed to the central shaft beneath the channel and near the lower end of the central shaft;

a rod disposed within said channel and extending substantially the length of the central shaft and having a first end and a second end, said second end being disposed in the receptacle such that the rod is supported therein, said rod being parallel to and in spaced relation with the central shaft, a portion of the first end of the rod extending above said channel being bent into a right angle said bent portion forming a handle;

an ice reaming blade having a top edge, a bottom edge, front and back surfaces, a rear edge and a forward angled cutting edge, said ice reaming blade being securely attached to the rod above the upper rim of the receptacle, said attachment to the rod being along the back surface adjacent to the rear edge, said ice reaming blade extending outwardly from the rod so as to be positioned directly beneath and in the same plane as the handle, and said ice reaming blade having a rest position wherein it does not extend beyond the split ring and a use position wherein the ice reaming blade extends outwardly beyond the split ring to ream the ice hole;

a retaining loop affixed to the central shaft above the upper edge of the ice reaming blade and encircling said rod, the rod being freely rotatable within the retaining loop, said retaining loop to maintain the rod in vertical orientation adjacent to the central shaft and to prevent the rod from being lifted out of the receptacle; and

a latch assembly affixed to the central shaft substantially at the level of the handle and positioned such that when the handle is engaged in the latch assembly the ice reaming blade is in the rest position and when the handle is released from latch assembly the rod rotates and the ice reaming blade is moved to the use position;

whereby the ice hole can be drilled and reamed in one operation while the auger is activated.

16. An ice auger as described in claim 15 further comprising at least two vertical stabilizing posts equidistantly arranged about the central shaft, a first post affixed between the split ring and the helical blade along outside edges thereof and disposed radially outward from the retaining loop such that when the ice reaming blade is in the use position the first post functions as a stop to prevent further rotation of said ice reaming blade and to support said ice reaming blade, and at least one second stabilizing post affixed between two portions of the helical blade along outside edges thereof, whereby the stabilizing posts provide stability to the ice auger and prevent wobble during operation.

17. An ice auger as described in claim 15 further comprising a opening in the floor of the receptacle for drainage and to prevent the rod from freezing in place.

18. An ice auger as described in claim 15 wherein the latch assembly includes a spring biased activation bar to enable a user to release the handle in a single motion and re-engage the handle also in a single motion while the auger is activated.

19. An ice auger as described in claim 15 wherein the ice reaming blade traverses through an angle of substantially 180° between the rest position and the use position.

20. An ice auger as described in claim 15 further comprising a rod retaining means in vertical alignment with said retaining loop and disposed near the upper end of the central shaft below the latch assembly for maintaining proper alignment and providing support to the first end of said rod, said rod being freely rotatable therewithin.

21. An ice hole reaming assembly in combination with an ice auger having a central shaft with an upper end and a lower end, a helical blade affixed along an inside edge to the central shaft and extending outwardly therefrom, and an ice cutting blade, said ice hole reaming assembly comprising:

a series of cutouts along the inside edge of the helical blade, said cutouts in vertical alignment forming a channel adjacent to the central shaft;

a rod disposed within said channel and extending substantially the length of the central shaft, said rod having a first end and a second end and being parallel to and in spaced relation with the central shaft, a portion of the first end of the rod extending above the channel being bent into a right angle said bent portion forming a handle;

support means situated beneath the rod to support said rod and into which the second end of the rod is rotatably disposed;

an ice reaming blade securely attached to the second end of the rod above the support means, said ice reaming blade extending outwardly from the rod, and said ice reaming blade having a rest position and a use position in which to ream the ice hole;

retaining means to maintain the rod in vertical orientation adjacent to the central shaft and to prevent the rod from being lifted out of the support means; and

a latch assembly affixed to the central shaft substantially at the level of the handle and positioned such that when the handle is engaged in the latch assembly the ice reaming blade is in the rest position and when the handle is released from latch assembly the ice reaming blade is moved to the use position to ream the ice hole.