Claims
- 1. In a snow plow having a snow plow frame for installation at the front of a vehicle, a shock-absorbing structure for cushioning the impact between a snow plow blade and a snow plow frame which supports the snow plow blade therefrom at a limit of movement of said snow plow blade, said shock-absorbing structure comprising:
a blade support frame member having right and left ends, said blade support frame member being supported by the snow plow frame which is mounted at the front of the vehicle; said blade support frame member including blade mounting members which are fixedly mounted adjacent said right and left ends of said blade support frame member, respectively, said blade mounting members each defining a pivot point; a snow plow blade having a frame comprising vertically oriented mounting ribs, each of said mounting ribs defining a pivot point; connecting members used to pivotally connect corresponding ones of said mounting ribs to said blade mounting members, said snow plow blade being pivotable between a blade return position and a blade tripped position; blade biasing members which urge said snow plow blade from said blade tripped position to said blade return position; and a plurality of cushion stops mounted on one of said blade support frame member and said snow plow blade, said cushion stops being contacted by the other of said blade support frame member and said snow plow blade as said snow plow blade pivots prior to reaching at least one of said blade tripped position and said blade return position, said cushion stops thus absorbing a substantial portion of the impact force which would otherwise be transferred to said blade support frame member.
- 2. A blade mounting structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said blade support frame member is pivotally mounted from said snow plow frame.
- 3. A blade mounting structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said frame of said snow plow blade comprises:
a top plow frame member; a bottom plow frame member; and a plurality of ribs extending between said top and bottom plow frame members, said mounting ribs being two of said plurality of ribs.
- 4. A blade mounting structure as defined in claim 3, wherein said top and bottom plow frame members and said plurality of ribs are all made of steel and are welded together to form said frame of said snow plow blade.
- 5. A blade mounting structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said pivot point in each of said mounting ribs is defined by an aperture extending through each of said mounting ribs.
- 6. A blade mounting structure as defined in claim 5, wherein said right and left blade mounting members each comprise:
a first blade pivot mount which is mounted on said blade support frame member near an end thereof, said first blade pivot mount extending forwardly from said blade support frame member; and an aperture extending through said first blade pivot mount in the portion thereof which extends forwardly from said blade support frame member; wherein said aperture in said right mounting rib is connected to said aperture in said first blade pivot mount which is mounted on said right end of said blade support frame member with one of said connecting members, and wherein said aperture in said left mounting rib is connected to said aperture in said first blade pivot mount which is mounted on said left end of said blade support frame member with another of said connecting members.
- 7. A blade mounting structure as defined in claim 6, wherein said right and left blade mounting members each additionally comprise:
a second blade pivot mount which is mounted on said blade support frame member at a location which is adjacent said first blade pivot mount but is spaced away from said first blade pivot mount sufficiently far to admit one of said mounting ribs therebetween, said second blade pivot mount extending forwardly from said blade support frame member; and an aperture extending through said second blade pivot mount in the portion thereof which extends forwardly from said blade support frame member, said apertures in said first and second blade pivot mount members being aligned; wherein said one of said connecting members extends sequentially through said aperture in said first blade pivot mount which is mounted near said right end of said blade support frame member, said aperture in said right mounting rib, and said aperture in said second blade pivot mount which is close adjacent said first blade pivot mount which is mounted near said right end of said blade support frame member, and wherein said other of said connecting members extends sequentially through said aperture in said first blade pivot mount which is mounted near said left end of said blade support frame member, said aperture in said left mounting rib, and said aperture in said second blade pivot mount which is close adjacent said first blade pivot mount which is mounted near said left end of said blade support frame member.
- 8. A blade mounting structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said connecting members each comprise:
a pin; and a retaining member secured to said pin to retain said pin in place.
- 9. A blade mounting structure as defined in claim 1, additionally comprising:
retaining members for removably retaining said cushion stops in place.
- 10. A blade mounting structure as defined in claim 9, wherein said cushion stops each have an aperture located therein, and wherein said one of said blade support member and said snow plow blade has a plurality of additional apertures located therein, said aperture in each of said cushion stops and one of said additional apertures being aligned when said cushion stops are mounted in position, and wherein said retaining members comprise:
a bolt which extends through said aperture in each said cushion stop and one of said additional apertures to retain said cushion stop in said pocket; and a nut threaded onto said bolt to retain said bolt in position.
- 11. A blade mounting structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said cushion stops are retained in position with an adhesive.
- 12. A blade mounting structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said cushion stops are made of polyurethane.
- 13. A blade mounting structure as defined in claim 12, wherein said cushion stops are made of Quazi formulated methylenebisdiphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) polyester-based polyurethane.
- 14. A blade mounting structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said cushion stops are made of a material having a hardness of approximately 93 durometer on the Shore A scale.
- 15. In a snow plow having a snow plow frame for detachable installation at the front of a vehicle, a shock-absorbing structure for cushioning the impact between a snow plow blade and a snow plow frame which supports the snow plow blade therefrom at a limit of movement of said snow plow blade, said shock-absorbing structure comprising:
a blade support frame member having right and left ends, said blade support frame member being supported by the snow plow frame which is detachably mounted at the front of the vehicle, said blade support member comprising:
a first blade pivot mount assembly which is mounted on said blade support frame member near said right end thereof, said first blade pivot mount assembly extending forwardly from said blade support frame member, said first blade pivot mount assembly having at least one aperture extending therethrough in the portion thereof which extends forwardly from said blade support frame member; and a second blade pivot mount assembly which is mounted on said blade support frame member near said left end thereof, said second blade pivot mount assembly extending forwardly from said blade support frame member, said second blade pivot mount assembly having at least one aperture extending therethrough in the portion thereof which extends forwardly from said blade support frame member; a snow plow blade having a frame comprising a top plow frame member, a bottom plow frame member, and a plurality of vertically oriented curved ribs extending between said top and bottom plow frame members, said plurality of vertically oriented curved ribs including mounting ribs which each have an aperture extending therethrough, which apertures in said right and left mounting ribs define a pivot point for said snow plow blade; a plurality of connecting members used to pivotally connect said mounting ribs to corresponding ones of said blade pivot mounts, said snow plow blade thereby being pivotable between a blade return position and a blade tripped position; blade biasing members which urge said snow plow blade from said blade tripped position to said blade return position; and a plurality of cushion stops mounted on one of said blade support frame member and said snow plow blade, said cushion stops being contacted by the other of said blade support frame member and said snow plow blade as they pivot prior to said snow plow blade reaching either said blade tripped position or said blade return position, said cushion stops being made of a hard, resilient, durable man-made material to absorb a substantial portion of the impact force which would otherwise be transferred to said blade support frame member.
- 16. A shock-absorbing structure for cushioning the impact between a snow plow blade and a snow plow frame which may be installed at the front of a vehicle, said shock-absorbing structure comprising:
a blade support frame member with right and left ends which is supported from the snow plow frame which may be installed at the front of the vehicle, said blade support member having blade mounting members which are fixedly mounted adjacent said right and left ends of said blade support frame member; mounting ribs contained in a frame of a snow plow blade which are pivotally mounted to corresponding ones of said blade mounting members, respectively, said snow plow blade thereby being pivotable between a blade return position and a blade tripped position; blade biasing members which urge said snow plow blade from said blade tripped position to said blade return position; and cushion stops mounted on one of said blade support frame member and said snow plow blade, said cushion stops being contacted by the other of said blade support frame member and said snow plow blade and absorbing a substantial portion of the impact force as said snow plow blade pivots prior to reaching at least one of said blade tripped position and said blade return position.
- 17. A method of cushioning the impact between a snow plow blade and a snow plow frame which may be installed at the front of a vehicle, said method comprising:
supporting a blade support frame member having right and left ends from the snow plow frame which is installed at the front of the vehicle; fixedly mounting blade mounting members adjacent said right and left ends of said blade support frame member; pivotally mounting mounting ribs contained in a frame of a snow plow blade to corresponding ones of said mounting members, said snow plow blade thereby being pivotable between a blade return position and a blade tripped position; biasing said snow plow blade from said blade tripped position to said blade return position; and mounting a cushion stop on one of said blade support frame member and said snow plow blade, said cushion stops being contacted by the other of said blade support frame member and said snow plow blade and absorbing a substantial portion of the impact force as said snow plow blade pivots prior to reaching as least one of said blade tripped position and said blade return position.
IDENTIFICATION OF RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/192,224, entitled “Cushion Stop and Method for Absorbing Bidirectional Impact of Snow Plow Blade Tripping,” which was filed on Jul. 10, 2002, and which will issue on Sep. 16, 2003, as U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,965, which patent application is hereby incorporated herein by reference. This application is also related to four other copending patent applications, namely U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/192,336, entitled “Snow Plow Quick Connect/Disconnect Hitch Mechanism and Method,” U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/192,225, entitled “Snow Plow Having an In-Line Frame Design and Method of Making the Same,” U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/192,577, entitled “Spring Bracket Design and Method for Snow Plow Blade Trip Mechanism,” U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/192,230, entitled “Back Blade Wearstrip for Efficient Backward Operation of Snow Plows and Method for Facilitating the Same,” all filed on Jul. 10, 2002, and assigned to the assignee of the present patent application, which four patent applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10192224 |
Jul 2002 |
US |
Child |
10655339 |
Sep 2003 |
US |