Excavating – Snow or ice removing or grooming by portable device – With specific means to facilitate connection to – or...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-17
2001-08-21
Pezzuto, Robert E. (Department: 3671)
Excavating
Snow or ice removing or grooming by portable device
With specific means to facilitate connection to, or...
C172S274000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06276075
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to the art of mounting snowplows to automotive vehicles, and more particularly an apparatus for mounting a snowplow blade on a vehicle-mounted snowplow supporting frame attached to a vehicle equipped with controls for positioning the frame and the snowplow blade.
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
The invention finds particular utility in connection with snowplows and mounting structures of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,353,287 to King; U.S. Pat. No. 3,400,475 to Peitl; U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,946 to Peitl; U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,947 to Peitl; U.S. Pat. No. 3,706,144 to Miceli; U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,449 to Miceli; U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,762 to Sarka, et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,790 to Ciula, owned by the assignee of the present invention, and the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference as background information. Accordingly, the invention will be disclosed and described in detail herein in conjunction with a snowplow and various supporting frame hardware typical of those disclosed in the above referenced patents. It will be appreciated, however, that the present invention can be applied to other styles and types of snowplows and supporting frames.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the snowplow systems shown in the above patents, the blade is supported on a vehicle using a pivotal mounting frame allowing an operator to pivot the blade about a vertical axis and thereby to selectively direct the plowed snow to either side of the vehicle path. Such mounting frames are generally mounted on a vehicle for pivoting about a horizontal axis near the front of the vehicle whereby the plow blade may also be selectively raised and lowered using hydraulic controls mounted on the vehicle. The plow blade itself is typically attached to the mounting frame for limited rotation about a horizontal mounting axis near the plow blade and is further equipped with springs connected between the blade and the mounting frame to dampen this rotational movement and to bias the blade to an upright position. In addition, the blade may optionally be offset from the ground using skids or casters mounted to the mounting frame. This is particularly desirable for heavy highway plows to minimize damage to the road surface. The above patents illustrate various structures by which snowplow blades have heretofore been supported on such mounting frames. In Miceli U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,449, the blade is mounted on a U-shaped support member using trunnions 40 and 42 as shown in FIG. 2. The support member provides manual adjustment of the blade angle about a center pin 46 and lock 48. Springs 44 are connected between the blade and the support member to hold the blade upright and to dampen the pivoting of the blade about the trunnion axis as the blade contacts obstacles. Miceli U.S. Pat. No. 3,706,144 also illustrates an arcuate snowplow blade support member in FIG. 1. In this arrangement, the arcuate member forms a sector and a long pin pivotally interconnects the blade and support member. Hydraulic control of the blade angle is provided using rams 2 and 3. In King U.S. Pat. No. 3,353,287, the snowplow blade support system includes a C-shaped channel member pivotally attached to the blade with pins, forming a sector arrangement with an arcuate plate member 25. This configuration further includes two horizontal V-shaped brace members between the arcuate member and the C-shaped channel member. Manual adjustment of the blade angle is disclosed, wherein the blade pivots around axis 14 through the C-shaped channel member and is locked in a desired position. In Ciula U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,790, a C-shaped support member 26 is illustrated having no arcuate supporting structure. In applications employing light weight snowplow blades, as disclosed in Ciula, a single C-shaped support member has proven adequate. However, larger and/or more massive snowplow blades require more supporting strength, particularly for highway plowing applications where the vehicle speed exceeds that of typical parking lot or driveway operations. Adding further supporting braces and members, as shown in the Miceli and King patents, adds further cost, complexity, and weight to the system. Other methods of strengthening the C-shaped support member of Ciula include selection of different materials and increasing the thickness. These methods, however, further add to the cost and weight of the blade support apparatus, and are therefore undesirable. Optional support for vehicle snowplow blades is provided by skids as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,400,475; 3,432,946; and 3,432,947 to Peitl, or by casters as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,762 to Sarka, et al. In these systems, the skid or caster may be vertically adjusted by rotating a threaded shaft such as is shown in Peitl U.S. Pat. No. 3,400,475, and fixed by tightening a nut on the shaft. Alternatively, the vertical spacing between the skids or casters and the plow blade may be adjusted using a vertical skid shaft inserted within a vertical supporting plate, wherein horizontal holes are provided in the shaft and the plate for receiving a pin, as shown in Peitl U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,946. The use of a threaded shaft is an expensive method, as threaded surfaces must be provided both in the shaft as well as in the vertical structure to which the shaft is mounted. Horizontal holes and pins in combination provide relatively inexpensive vertical adjustment for skids or casters. However, such a pin must bear the vertical load of the snowplow mass, which can be very large for highway plows and the like. The pin must therefore be sized to accept the shear forces caused by the snowplow load. It is therefore desirable to provide a system for vertical adjustment of snowplow blade supporting skids, rollers, or casters which provides adequate vertical load handling capabilities with little or no increase in cost or complexity over the prior systems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a snowplow blade supporting apparatus by which the foregoing and other problems and disadvantages are overcome or minimized. More particularly, and in accordance with the principal aspect of the present invention, there is provided a snowplow blade mounting apparatus which includes an I-beam support member adapted to support a typical highway or smaller snowplow for damped limited pivotal movement about a horizontal axis. In this regard, the single support I-beam member has higher load carrying capabilities and lower torsional flexure than a similarly sized C-shaped channel member of the same weight and thickness. Moreover, the flanges of the I-beam overhang both sides of the beam web, thus providing additional weld points on the inwardly facing flange surfaces of both sides. As such, clevis plates may be welded to both the I-beam web and the flange of both sides of the I-beam to provide superior weld joint strength over a weld to the web alone. In addition, the apparatus provided occupies no more space than devices existing heretofore.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the snowplow blade supporting apparatus includes a pivotal mounting adapted for connection with a typical vehicle mounted supporting frame, and allowing controlled pivotal movement of the blade with respect to the supporting frame about a vertical axis.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the support member includes a control connector for attachment of a hydraulic ram or other controls, allowing a vehicle operator to adjust the snowplow blade angle from inside the vehicle.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the support member further includes a bracket adapted for connection to a spring, whereby the spring may be connected between the support member and the blade.
In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a caster mounted on the support member which is vertically adjustable with respect to the support member.
It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved
Kost James A.
Potak Robert L.
Pezzuto Robert E.
The Louis Berkman Company
Vickers Daniels & Young
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