Adjustable wing plow

Details Adjustable wing plow Adjustable wing plow

2000-10-12

2002-06-25

Pezzuto, Robert E. (Department: 3671)

Excavating

Snow or ice removing or grooming by portable device

Scraper blade

Reexamination Certificate

active

06408549

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to plows fitted on vehicles for moving snow, dirt, sand, gravel and other plowable and/or excavatable materials and, more particularly, to a plow for snow and other materials for use with pickup trucks and other vehicles having plow wings which are individually adjustable for extension of the main plow and/or forward angling for positioning the plow to prevent snow or other plowed material from slipping off the ends of the plow.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A wide variety of snow plows for pickup trucks and other utility vehicles are available and in use. These include straight bladed plows of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,250,026, and center-hinged, V-plows of the type shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,074,448 and 4,658,519. Other straight bladed plows have been devised with one or both ends being slidably extendable as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,218,512; U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,064; and Swedish 323,974. Yet other plows have included straight blades with pivotable, non-extendable ends as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,145,825 and 3,477,151. At least one plow is shown in EPO 140,139 having permanently forwardly angled plow ends, which forwardly angled plow ends include slidable extensions wherein the entire plow swings from side to side so as to angle the entire plow left or right.
While each of the above types of prior known plows is useful in one or more situations, the overall flexibility for use of these plows has been limited. For example, for truck mounted plows which must be transported from one site to another for clearing snow or other materials, it is necessary that the plow be short enough to allow transport on public highways which have limited lane width. However, when actually engaged in plowing, it is very helpful to have a greater length for the plow so that larger areas of the parking lot or other site can be cleared of snow more quickly. Yet another problem encountered is when large amounts of snow or other plowable material must be pushed or carried with the plow from one area of a clearing site to another such as the side of a parking lot. Many of the above mentioned plows allow snow or other material being cleared to slip off the ends of the plow thereby requiring additional time and work to completely clear the site.
Some plows have been proposed which provide adjustable plow wings which are extendable and retractable and may be pivoted forwardly from their extended positions to form a generally U-shaped plow to assist in retaining snow or other material on the plow blade as it is pushed along. Such plows are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,899,007 and 5,638,618. Such plows are operable to first extend the plow wings and then pivot the wings forwardly.
Many existing, prior known plows have, therefore, failed to provide a plow with sufficient flexibility to handle the varying needs encountered in plowing using pickup trucks or other vehicles, especially when such vehicles must be driven on public highways, or when excavating or grading using a bulldozer, grader or the like. Such needs include a short enough plow length to allow transportation on public highways, a long enough length for fast, efficient clearing of a job site, and the carrying or pushing of snow, dirt, sand, gravel or the like from one area to another without allowing the material to slip off the plow ends. In addition, plows should be as light in weight as possible while sufficiently strong to withstand the various forces imposed thereon during plowing of various materials, should allow for proper visibility during use as well as when moved to a non-use position on the vehicle, and should allow ease in repair or replacement of those parts subject to high wear during plowing use. All of these results should be accomplished while minimizing the size and space required for the plow in each of its arrangements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention provides a plow having adjustable wings on its ends which can be adjusted to varying positions to allow transport on public highways, to provide increased plow length for fast, efficient clearing of snow or other material being plowed, and to allow carrying or pushing of plowable material from one area to another without the plowed material slipping off the plow ends. The present plow may be configured in various arrangements to handle each of these situations while minimizing the size and space required by the plow when in position on the vehicle. The present plow also allows adjustment to meet these various situations from a remote position in the cab of the vehicle without external, hands on adjustment.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a plow assembly for vehicles comprises a plow, a support for attaching the plow to the vehicle, a plow wing on one end of the plow, and an actuating device connected to the plow wing and operable to move the plow wing between an aligned position and a forwardly angled position and to move the plow wing between a retracted position and an extended position. The plow includes opposite ends, a front material engaging surface, and a rear surface opposite the front surface. The plow wing has an inner end and an outer end, a front material engaging surface, and a rear surface opposite the front surface. The plow wing is mounted for sliding movement along the plow between a retracted position in which the outer end of the wing is adjacent the end of the plow, and an extended position in which the outer wing is spaced outwardly from the retracted position and the end of the plow. The plow wing includes a hinge and is pivotally mounted on the hinge for movement between an aligned position in which the front material engaging surface of the plow wing is aligned with the front material engaging surface of the plow, and a forwardly angled position in which the wing front surface extends at an angle to the plow front surface. The actuating device is operable to move the plow wing between the aligned position and the forwardly angled position at least when the plow wing is in the retracted position.
In one form, the actuating device is operable to move the plow wing to the forwardly angled position prior to moving the plow wing from the retracted position to the extended position. The actuating device may comprise a single extendable and retractable actuator, such as a hydraulic cylinder, which is operable to first pivot the plow wing to the forwardly angled position and then to extend the plow wing laterally outwardly from the plow. The plow assembly may include a latch or restraining mechanism which prevents laterally outward movement of the plow wing until after the plow wing has been fully angled forwardly with respect to the plow, in which position the restraining mechanism disengages and allows extension of the plow wing in response to further extension of the actuator.
Preferably, a second plow wing is similarly positioned and operable at the opposite end of the plow. Optionally, the plow wings are operable by a separate pair of actuating devices, whereby one of the actuating devices of each pair is operable to extend and retract a respective one of the plow wings, while the other of the actuating devices of each pair is operable to pivot the respective plow wing between the aligned and forwardly angled positions.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a plow assembly for vehicles comprises a plow, a support for attaching the plow to the vehicle, first and second plow wings, and at least one first actuator operable to move the first plow wing and at least one second actuator operable to move the second plow wing. Each of the plow wings preferably has a cross sectional contour corresponding to the plow. The first wing is mounted for sliding movement along the front surface of the plow at one end, while the second wing is mounted for sliding movement along the front surface of the plow at the other end. Each of the wings are movable between the retracted position in which the outer end of the wing is adjacent to its respective end of the plow,

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