US3640005A

US3640005A - Selectively lockable floating snowplow mount

Info

Publication number: US3640005A
Application number: US22584A
Authority: US
Inventors: Generoso Chiarolanza; Joseph Chiarolanza
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-03-25
Filing date: 1970-03-25
Publication date: 1972-02-08
Anticipated expiration: 1989-02-08

Abstract

A plow adapter for use in conjunction with a vehicle allows the plow to be alternately used in two modes of operation: floating or rigid. The adapter comprises illustratively first and second members each having one end pivotally connected, respectively, to the plow frame and the vehicle frame, the other ends of the members are slidably engaged to permit floating operation in which the plow follows the contours of the road surface. In addition, one of the members is provided with a releasable locking member which can be adapted to fix the relative positions of the first and second members with respect to one another, thereby permitting rigid operation in which downward pressure exerted through the adapter forces the plow against the road surface for such operations as scraping.

Description

United States Patent Chiarolanza et a].

[ 51 Feb. 8, 1972 [54] SELECTIVELY LOCKABLE FLOATING SNOWPLOW MOUNT [22] Filed: Mar. 25, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 22,584

[52] U.S. Cl. ..37/42 R, 37/41, 37/42 VL,

172/805 [51] Int. Cl ..E0lh 5/06 [58] Field ofSearch ..37/1,29, 35,41,42, 44, 46,

2,139,625 12/1938 Pruss.... ....37/42 R 2,231,268 2/1941 Hoare ....37/42 R 2,713,220 7/1955 Muenchow ..37/42 R 3,197,188 7/1965 Moore ..172/794 3,041,753 7/1962 Koloseus ....172/683 3,355,825 12/1967 Weeks ..37/42 R Primary Examiner-Robert E. Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-R. E. Suter Attorney-Michael J. Urbano [57] ABSTRACT A plow adapter for use in conjunction with a vehicle allows the plow to be alternately used in two modes of operation: floating or rigid. The adapter comprises illustratively first and second members each having one end pivotally connected, respectively, to the plow frame and the vehicle frame, the other ends of the members are slidably engaged to permit floating operation in which the plow follows the contours of the road surface. In addition, one of the members is provided with a releasable locking member which can be adapted to fix the relative positions of the first and second members with respect to one another, thereby permitting rigid operation in which downward pressure exerted through the adapter forces the plow against the road surface for such operations as scrapmg.

13 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENIED FEB a 1972 3 '640 005 sum 1 0M GENEROSO CH/AROLANZA JOSEPH CH/AROLANZA ATTORNEY INVENTORS man-15m em: 1640.005

SHEET 2 (If 4 F/GIZ HYDRAULIC P RETURN LINE RAM DOWN I L 1 RAM UP I04 DOUBLE CONTROL VALVE 88 54 R H6. 3c 1 INVENTORS: GENEROSO CH/AROLANZA JOSEPH CH/AROLANZA BY).z fi

ATTORNEY PATENTEU FEB 8 I972 SHEET 3 OF 4 FIG. 3B

HWENTORSZ GENE/P050 'CH/AROLANZA Y JOSEPH CH/AROLANZA W ,4. am,

ATTORNEY PATENTEU FEB 8l972 SHEET l 0F 4 F/G. 4A

B 4 m F GENEROSO CH/AROLANZA 'NVENTORS- JOSEPH CH/AROLANZA ATTORNEY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to plows for use in conjunction with vehicles and, more particularly, to a snow plow adapter which permits the plow to be alternately used in either a rigid or floating mode of operation.

Conventional snow plows, and plows in general, have for decades functioned almost exclusively in two modes of operation: rigid or floating. In the latter mode the plow follows the contours of the road or other surface being plowed and intentional lifting of the plow from the surface, as when the plowing operation is completed or to avoid a surface obstruction, is accomplished by chain lift mechanisms controlled from within the vehicle to which the plow is attached. The chain by its nature, of course, does not permit downward pressure to be exerted on the plow blade for operations such as scraping. In such circumstances, the prior art has resorted to manually inserting rigid, immovable members between the vehicle frame and the plow to effect the aforesaid rigid mode of operation. Prior art plows are, therefore, not readily converted from floating to rigid operation and vice versa. The procedure required to effect such conversion is cumbersome, time consuming and expensive and often necessitates returning the vehicle to a garage or station, especially when inclement cold weather encountered in winter seasons, or wet weather in warmer seasons, renders outdoor conversion physically intolerable or inconvenient.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to be able to quickly and easily convert a snow plow from operation in a rigid mode to operation in a floating mode and vice versa.

It is another object of this invention to effect such conversion without requiring that the vehicle driver leave the cab of his vehicle or return same to a garage or similar station.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a plow adapter that is versatile, structurally strong and readily fabricated at relatively low cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other objects are accomplished in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention, a plow adapter for use in conjunction with a vehicle and comprising first and second members each having one end pivotally connected, respectively, to the plow frame and to the vehicle frame. The other ends of the members are slidably engaged to pennit floating operation, i.e., as the plow follows the undulations in the road or other surface, the first member slides up and down in a slot in the second member. To effect a rigid mode of operation, a releasable locking member, located in a channel in the second member, is moved to block the slot therein, thereby causing the first and second members to be fixed relative to one another. Moreover, the position of the second member is fixed with respect to the vehicle frame by means of a hydraulic ram, thus also fixing the relative positions of the first member with respect to the vehicle frame. With the relative positions thus fixed, inward motion of the ram plunger exerts downward pressure on the plow blade through the first and second members, thereby effecting a rigid mode of operation in which the blade is urged against the road surface for such functions as road scraping and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above and other objects of the invention, together with its various features and advantages, can be easily understood from the following more detailed discussion, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of an illustrative control mechanism for use in conjunction with the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a partial side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with the adapter in a rigid mode;

FIG. 3B is a partial top view of the adapter of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C is a partial end view of the adapter of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A is a partial side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with the adapter in a floating mode; and

FIG. 4B is a partial top view of the adapter of FIG. 4A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Turning now to the perspective view of FIG. 1, there is shown a plow adapter 10 connected'between a rigid frame 12 on the front of a vehicle, typically ajeep, and the horizontal baseplate 14 of a plow blade 16. The blade 16 is pivoted at 18 on the baseplate 14 which is in turn pivoted (not shown) for vertical motion on the underside of the vehicle. The blade 16 has

vertical ribs

28, 33 and 32 to which is pivotally connected at

points

29, 30 and 31, the crossbar 20 ofa semicircular yoke 22. The blade 16 is rotated about point 18 by means of a pair (only one is shown) of hydraulic rams 24 connected between the forward end of the yoke 22 and the rearward portion of frame 14. For simplicity, the pump, valve and other control mechanism which would be coupled to outlet 26 in ram 24 are not shown inasmuch as such apparatus is well known to the worker skilled in the art. Thus, contracting ram 24 (and simultaneously expanding the ram not shown) pivots the blade 16 to the left. Similarly, expanding ram 24 pivots blade 16 to the right.

The blade 16 is of the conventional type having

vertical support ribs

28, 33 and 32 welded or otherwise connected between

horizontal ribs

34 and 36. In addition, heavy

duty coil springs

38 and 40 are connected between upper rib 34 and forwardly directed rigid appendages 42 and 44 on yoke 22. The forward torque of the blade about

points

29, 30 and 31 extends the springs which thus limit the forward tilt of the blade. Moreover, the blade 16 is provided at its bottom with a pair (only one shown) of resilient foot members 46 which absorb shock caused by the contact of the blade with the road or other surface being plowed.

With reference now to the more detailed drawings shown in FIGS. 3A-3C and FIGS. 4A-4B, the adapter 10 comprises a first substantially vertical, elongated rectangular member 50 pivoted at 52 to the baseplate 14 and a second elongated horizontal member 54 (U-shaped pivoted on a pair of protruding plates 56 on the front frame 12. The two

members

50 and 54 are disposed transverse to one another and slidably engaged as follows: member 54 has a slot 58 adapted to receive member 50 which in turn is provided with a slot 60 adapted to receive a rod 62 carried by holes in the

sides

64 and 65 of member'54 (see FIG. 3C). A hydraulic ram 66 is pivotally connected to both the member 54 via a rod 68 extending through the

sides

64 and 65 thereof and to the rigid frame 12 at 70 (FIGS. 3A and 4A).

In a rigid mode of operation, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, ram 66 is extended so that rod 62 is at the top of slot 60. Then, by means of cable 72 (which extends to the cab of the vehicle) the operator manually slides forward locking member 74, illustratively a slug in the shape of a rectangular parallelopiped, which is carried by a channel 76 in horizontal member 54. The locking member 74 thereby substantially fixes the relative positions of the

members

50 and 54 with respect to one another. Consequently, member 50 can no longer slide in slot 58 and contraction of ram 66 exerts downward pressure through

members

54, 74 and 50 to baseplate l4 and plow blade 16 to effect operations such as scraping. In fact, this mode is possible whether the vehicle is driven in forward or reverse motion. Alternately, expansion of ram 66 in this mode causes the plow blade to lift off the road surface as when the plow is not in use.

It is, of course, to be understood that the position of locking member 74 can be controlled either hydraulically or electrically (e.g., by a ram or solenoid, respectively, located in member 54) as well as manually as described above.

In a floating mode of operation, as shown in 4A and 4B, the locking member 74 is retracted in channel 76. Ram 66 is then contracted to pivot member 54 on the rod in plates 56 to a convenient intermediate position to permit member 50 to slide up and down invslot 58 as the plow blade l6.follows the undulations of the road or other surface being plowed.

For use in conjunction with a conventional 7% foot plow driven by a jeep or similar vehicle, it has been detennined that fabricating the member 50 from one-half inch thick steel and the member 54 from three-eighths inch thick steel provides more than adequate structural strength consistent with low cost. In the adapter constructed, member 50 was about 30 inches long, 3 inches wide, with slot 60 being about 1 inch wide and 12 inches long. On the other hand, member 54 was about 16 inches long an 4 inches square in cross section, with slot 58 being about l inch wide and 7 inches long. Locking member 74 was one-half inch thick steel, 3 inches wide and 7 inches long. These dimensions and materials are intended for the purposes of illustration only and are not to be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention. The particular dimensions chosen depend upon such factors as the size and weight of the plow.

in effecting the conversion between rigid and floating modes of operation, hydraulic ram 66 may be controlled by means of apparatus as shown in FlG. 2. The ram 66 has two

input ports

80 and 82 which are connected to

output ports

84 and 86, respectively, of a well known double control valve 88 via

oil lines

90 and 92, respectively. Oil is pumped into the valve 88 by hydraulic oil pump 94 through feed line 96 and is returned to the pump over return line 98. The internal valves are alternately actuated by spring loaded, T-shaped control arm 100 which is pivoted at 102 and connected via control rod 104 to the interior of the vehicle. To contract the ram, for example, the operator moves rod 104 forward, and to expand the ram pulls the rod backward. As with control rod 72, rod 104 may be moved automatically (e.g., electrically) by means well known in the art.

As has become apparent from the foregoing description the operator can readily control the mode of operation of the plow by means of control rods 72, and 104 which extend to the interior of the vehicle. Therefore, without having to leave the cab of the vehicle, return to a garage or mechanically add and assemble parts, the plow may be converted from a rigid to a floating mode of operation and vice versa.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are merely illustrative of the many possible specific embodiments which can be devised to represent application of the principles of the invention. Numerous and varied other arrangements can be devised in accordance with these principles by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

. What is claimed is:

1. For use in conjunction with a vehicle having a plow and a frame, an adapter comprising a first substantially vertical member having one end pivotally connected to said plow,

a second substantially horizontal member having one end pivotally connected to said vehicle frame,

means for slidably engaging the other ends of said first and second members thereby to permit floating operation of said plow, and

means slidable within said second member for releaseably fixing the relative positions of said first and second members with respect to one another, thereby to permit rigid operation of said plow.

2. The adapter of claim 1 wherein said plow includes a plow blade and a baseplate connecting said vehicle frame to said plow blade and wherein said first member comprises an elongated rectangular member having said one end pivotally connected to said baseplate and having an elongated, substantially vertical first slot extending therethrough, and

said second member has a second slot extending therethrough to receive said first member.

3. The adapter of claim 2 wherein said first and second members are disposed substantially transverse to one another and wherein said engaging means comprises a rod carried by said second member and extending through said first slot in said first member.

4. The adapter of claim 3 wherein said second member includes a channel and said releasable fixing means includes a locking member disposed in said channel and means for moving said locking member along said channel.

5. The adapter of claim 4 wherein said channel extends proximately to said second slot in said second member so that rigid mode of operation of said plow is attained when said rod is disposed at the end of said first slot and said locking member is positioned to block said second slot, and a floating mode of operation of said plow is attained when said locking member does not block said second slot.

6. The adapter of claim 5 wherein said second member comprises a top member and a pair of side members attached along opposite sides thereof, said second slot being disposed in said top member, said channel being formed by a pair of parallel grooves in the interior surfaces of said side members and said side members each having a hole therein in registry with one another for carrying said rod.

7. The adapter of claim 6 wherein said locking member comprises a substantially rectangular parallelepiped member disposed in said grooves and having a width greater than the width of said second slot.

8. The adapter of claim 7 wherein said moving means comprises a cable connected to said locking memberand extending to the cab of said vehicle to permit actuation by an operator therein.

9. The adapter of claim 5 wherein said releasable fixing means includes a hydraulic ram pivotally connected to said second member and to said vehicle frame so that with said plow in said rigid mode, contraction of said ram causes downward pressure on said plow blade and expansion of said ram causes said plow blade to lift off the surface being plowed. 10. The adapter of claim 9 wherein said ram has a pair of fluid ports and said fixing means further includes a double control valve coupled to said ports, a fluid pump for forcing fluid through said valve and into said ram, and means for actuating said valve to alternately contract and expand said ram, said actuating means extending to the cab of said vehicle to permit actuation by an operator therein.

11. For use in conjunction with a plow driven by a motor vehicle having a rigid front frame, said plow including a plow blade and a baseplate pivotally connected to said blade to permit rotation thereof about an axis perpendicular to said plate and pivotally connected to the underside of said vehicle to permit vertical motion of said plate, an adapter comprising an elongated rectangular substantially vertical first member having one end pivotally connected to said baseplate, said member having an elongated substantially rectangular first slot extending therethrough at the other end thereof,

an elongated second member disposed transverse to said first member and having one end pivotally connected to said vehicle frame, said second member comprising a top member and a pair of side members disposed along opposite sides of said top member, said side members each having an aperture in registry with one another and said top member having in the other end thereof a second slot extending therethrough adapted to receive said first member, each of said side members having further a groove extending along the interior surfaces thereof to define a channel, said channel extending under said second slot,

means for slidably engaging said first and second members comprising a rod disposed in said holes in said side members and extending through said first slot, thereby to permit a floating mode of operation of said plow, and

means for releaseably fixing the relative positions of said first and second members with respect to one another comprising a substantially rectangular locking member slidably disposed within said channel and having a width greater than the width of said second slot,

ing to the cab of said vehicle.

13. The adapter of claim 12 wherein said ram has a pair of fluid ports and said fixing means further includes a double control valve coupled to said ports, a fluid pump for forcing fluid through said valve and into said ram, and means for actuating said valve to alternately contract and expand said ram, said actuating means extending to the cab of said vehicle to permit actuation by an operator therein.

Claims

1. For use in conjunction with a vehicle having a plow and a frame, an adapter comprising a first substantially vertical member having one end pivotally connected to said plow, a second substantially horizontal member having one end pivotally connected to said vehicle frame, means for slidably engaging the other ends of said first and second members thereby to permit floating operation of said plow, and means slidable within said second member for releaseably fixing the relative positions of said first and second members with respect to one another, thereby to permit rigid operation of said plow.

2. The adapter of claim 1 wherein said plow includes a plow blade and a baseplate connecting said vehicle frame to said plow blade and wherein said first member comprises an elongated rectangular member having said one end pivotally connected to said baseplate and having an elongated, substantially vertical first slot extending therethrough, and said second member has a second slot extending therethrough to receive said first member.

8. The adapter of claim 7 wherein said moving means comprises a cable connected to said locking member and extending to the cab of said vehicle to permit actuation by an operator therein.

9. The adapter of claim 5 wherein said releasable fixing means includes a hydraulic ram pivotally connected to said second member and to said vehicle frame so that with said plow in said rigid mode, contraction of said ram causes downward pressure on said plow blade and expansion of said ram causes said plow blade to lift off the surface being plowed.

10. The adapter of claim 9 wherein said ram has a pair of fluid ports and said fixing means further includes a double control valve coupled to said ports, a fluid pump for forcing fluid through said valve and into said ram, and means for actuating said valve to alternately contract and expand said ram, said actuating means extending to the cab of said vehicle to permit actuation by an operator therein.

11. FOr use in conjunction with a plow driven by a motor vehicle having a rigid front frame, said plow including a plow blade and a baseplate pivotally connected to said blade to permit rotation thereof about an axis perpendicular to said plate and pivotally connected to the underside of said vehicle to permit vertical motion of said plate, an adapter comprising an elongated rectangular substantially vertical first member having one end pivotally connected to said baseplate, said member having an elongated substantially rectangular first slot extending therethrough at the other end thereof, an elongated second member disposed transverse to said first member and having one end pivotally connected to said vehicle frame, said second member comprising a top member and a pair of side members disposed along opposite sides of said top member, said side members each having an aperture in registry with one another and said top member having in the other end thereof a second slot extending therethrough adapted to receive said first member, each of said side members having further a groove extending along the interior surfaces thereof to define a channel, said channel extending under said second slot, means for slidably engaging said first and second members comprising a rod disposed in said holes in said side members and extending through said first slot, thereby to permit a floating mode of operation of said plow, and means for releaseably fixing the relative positions of said first and second members with respect to one another comprising a substantially rectangular locking member slidably disposed within said channel and having a width greater than the width of said second slot, means for moving said locking member along said channel, said moving means being operable from the cab of said vehicle, a hydraulic ram having one end pivotally connected to said second member and the other end pivotally connected to said vehicle frame, means for actuating said ram from the cab of said vehicle to cause said second member to pivot about its one end.

12. The adapter of claim 11 wherein said moving means includes a cable connected to said locking member and extending to the cab of said vehicle.