ADJUSTABLE-WIDTH SNOW PLOW
A snow plow apparatus comprises a snow plow main blade, end blade sections telescopingly mounted to ends of the main blade for sliding extension and retraction, and mechanical fasteners fixing a selected telescoped position of the end blade sections on the main blade. The main blade has a vertical cross section with linear portions connected by a formed channel-shaped center portion that gives the blade greater bending strength, and includes flanged upper and lower edges. The end blade sections match the main blade's vertical cross section, and include top and bottom flanges that slidably engage the upper and lower edges. Mechanical fasteners engage aligned holes in the flanges to fix a selected extended position of the blade end sections. End plates attached to the blade end sections retain snow on the face of the main blade during use.
This application claims benefit under 35 USC section 119C= of provisional application Ser. No. 61/863,617, filed Aug. 8, 2013, entitled ADJUSTABLE-WIDTH SNOW PLOW, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety.
BACKGROUNDThe present invention relates to snow plows for trucks and utility vehicles, and more particularly relates to a back-of-vehicle snow plow apparatus (called a “back plow” herein) with adjustable end sections that can be adjusted to a desired width setting, such that a single snow plow apparatus can satisfy different snow plow width requirements.
The end-to-end length dimension of snow plows is important to snow plowing companies and professionals (called “snow plowers” herein) for several reasons, such as needs related to vehicle capabilities, and/or to highway transport requirements, to the snow plow work itself (e.g. a desire for greater width passes at job site(s) or a need for shorter width passes due to width limitations from obstructions), the snow plower's preferences, and other reasons. A more subtle issue for snow plow manufacturers and distributers concerns inventories. Specifically, there are so many different blade lengths desired that the manufacturers and distributers have difficulty keeping sufficient inventories of all the different snow plows in stock that are exactly the right size for each different potential customer. This is especially problematic when inventories of snow plows are low and when a customer urgently needs a plow with very short lead time.
It would be desirable to provide a single back plow capable of satisfying different length dimension requirements, where the length dimension is not known ahead of time, or at least is decided with a very short lead time. Still further, a back plow capable of use on different width vehicles would provide additional flexibility for large plowing operations, where different sized plow widths are needed.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTIONIn one aspect of the present invention, a snow plow apparatus comprises a snow plow main blade, end blade sections telescopingly mounted to ends of the main blade for sliding extension and retraction, and mechanical fasteners for fixing a selected telescoped position of the end blade sections on the main blade.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method of providing a single snow plow apparatus capable of providing a desired adjusted length, comprises providing a snow plow main blade, telescopingly mounting end blade sections on ends of the main blade for sliding extension and retraction, and moving the end blade sections to a desired telescoped position, and mechanically fastening the end blade sections on the main blade to fix the selected telescoped position of the end blade sections on the main blade, thus providing a selected total dimensional length.
In another aspect of the present invention, a snow plow apparatus includes a snow plow main blade defining a length, end blade sections adjustably attached to the main blade for movement to at least three different-blade-width adjusted positions with the end blade sections lying parallel the length in all the positions, and a mechanical fastening system including fasteners to fix a selected one of the at least three positions, whereby the end blade sections can be fixed on the main blade in one of the positions in order to provide a selected total dimensional length.
These and other aspects, objects, and features of the present invention will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon studying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.
The present back blade apparatus 30 (i.e. a “back plow”) (
The illustrated main blade assembly 31 (
The non-linear shape of the board back plate including the channel 39 and top and bottom edge stiffening flanges 36 adds considerable strength to the apparatus 30, such that a thinner gage material can be used to form the board back blade 33. For example, a 0.18 inch thick steel sheet can be used instead of a 0.25 inch thick sheet (which would typically be used on a flat board plate), which change significantly reduces the total weight of assembly 30, while still maintaining structural integrity and strength of the apparatus 30.
The end blade assemblies 32 (
The channels 39/54 and top flanges 36/51 and bottom flanges 41/58 provide a guide/track that facilitates the extension of the end plate assemblies 32 on the main plate assembly 31. The lower holes 60 attach a wear plate 61 to the end plate slide 48, and at least one hole 60 also provides attachment of a bottom of the end plate slide 48 to the main back blade 33 in one of the selected extended positions. Top holes 62 in the end plate slide 48 also provide attachment of a top of the end plate slide 48 to the main back blade 33 in one of the selected extended positions. A wear plate 63 is attached to a bottom of the wing plate 49. It is noted that unused holes, including holes for fixing the end blade assemblies 32 onto the main blade assembly 31, are covered when the end blade assemblies 32 are adjusted to different positions and when wear plates are attached, which advantageously covers the unused holes and prevents “bleed through” or pass through of plowed snow during use. It is also contemplated that a plug (rubber grommet, fastener, or other material) can be used to plug unused holes.
Notably, the structure providing the present adjustability provides a robust and durable connection of the end plate assemblies 32 to the main back plate assembly 31, such that overall functional strength and integrity is not comprised. At the same time, the adjustability allows a single apparatus 30 to be adjusted to multiple positions (three such adjusted positions being illustrated), thus greatly assisting sellers of the present apparatus 30, since multiple customers can be satisfied by a single apparatus 30. The illustrated apparatus 30 is about 13″ to 22″ height, and can be adjusted to 84 inch, 90 inch or 96 inch widths. However, it is contemplated that alternative sizes are within a scope of the present invention.
The modified back plow apparatus 30A (
The top edge stiffening flange 51A is formed as an integral part of the end plate slide 48A (
It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structure without departing from the concepts of the present invention, and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.
Claims
1. A snow plow apparatus comprising:
- a snow plow main blade;
- end blade sections telescopingly mounted to ends of the main blade for sliding extension and retraction; and
- mechanical fasteners for fixing a selected telescoped position of the end blade sections on the main blade.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the snow plow main blade defines a non-planar vertical cross sectional shape, and the end blade sections define a mating shape configured for sliding engagement.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the snow plow main blade defines a vertical cross sectional shape having a stiffening channel formed along its midsection.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the snow plow main blade defines a vertical cross sectional shape with top and bottom edges, and wherein the end blade sections include flanges that slidably engage the top and bottom edges.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the snow plow main blade defines a vertical cross sectional shape with a first flange, and the end blade sections include a second flange slidingly abutting the first flange, and wherein the fasteners include at least one mechanical fastener extending through the first and second flanges to fix the first and second flanges together.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein one of the first and second flanges includes at least one hole and the other of the first and second flanges includes a slot overlapping the at least one hole.
7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein one of the first and second flanges includes at least two holes that can be selectively positioned in alignment with a mating hole in the other of the first and second flanges.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least two holes includes at least three holes.
9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein unused ones of the at least two holes are covered and thus not exposed to allow pass through of snow when not being used.
10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein unused ones of the at least two holes are plugged when not being used.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the main blade includes a vehicle mount on a rear surface, and the end blade sections include an end capture blade that extends forward from the end blade sections away from the vehicle mount, whereby the snow plow apparatus is a back blade configured to be pulled behind a vehicle with the end capture blades holding scraped snow on the main blade.
12. A snow plow apparatus comprising:
- a snow plow main blade defining a length;
- end blade sections adjustably attached to the main blade for movement to different positions including at least three different-blade-width adjusted positions and lying parallel the length in all the adjusted positions; and
- a mechanical fastening system including fasteners to fix a selected one of the at least three positions, whereby the end blade sections can be fixed on the main blade in one of the positions in order to provide a selected total dimensional length.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the fasteners include threaded shafts.
14. The apparatus defined in claim 12, wherein the mechanical fastening system defines at least three discrete positions of the end blade sections on the main blade.
15. A method of providing a single snow plow apparatus capable of providing a desired adjusted length, comprising steps of:
- providing a snow plow main blade;
- telescopingly mounting end blade sections on ends of the main blade for sliding extension and retraction, and moving the end blade sections to a desired telescoped position; and
- mechanically fastening the end blade sections on the main blade to fix the selected telescoped position of the end blade sections on the main blade, thus providing a selected total dimensional length.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of providing the snow plow main blade includes providing discrete holes defining at least two different discrete positions, and the step of moving the end blade sections includes moving the end blade sections between the at least two different discrete positions.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of moving the end blade sections includes moving the end blade sections to one of the at least two discrete positions and extending at least one fastener through one of the discrete holes and simultaneously includes covering another one of the at least two discrete holes that is not being used to prevent pass through of plowed snow.
18. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of moving the end blade sections includes moving the end blade sections to one of the at least two discrete positions and extending at least one fastener through one of the discrete holes and simultaneously includes plugging another one of the at least two discrete holes that is not being used to prevent pass through of plowed snow.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 21, 2014
Publication Date: Feb 12, 2015
Inventor: James N. Nammensma (Caledonia, MI)
Application Number: 14/336,509
International Classification: E01H 5/06 (20060101);