Patent Grant
8984778
Plowing vehicles, such as snowplowing vehicles, generally have a curved, shovel like device commonly known as a moldboard disposed on the front, side underneath, and/or rear of the vehicle. A plow blade is generally removably attached to a lower portion of the moldboard. The plow blade acts as the cutting edge by scraping along the upper surface of a roadway to remove snow or other materials from the roadway. As such, the plow blade often wears quickly and requires replacement. Further, certain segments of the plow blade may wear more quickly than others due to various factors beyond the control of a plow vehicle operator such as uneven or crowned roadways or the plow blade striking objects in or on the roadway.
The present application discloses a plow, a plow blade for mounting to a plow moldboard, and methods of installing a plow blade to a plow moldboard. In certain embodiments, the plow comprises a moldboard, an adapter blade attached to the moldboard, and a plow blade removably attached to the adapter blade. In one exemplary embodiment, the plow blade comprises one or more blade segments; an elastomeric portion that at least partially surrounds the one or more blade segments and permits the one or more blade segments to move relative to the moldboard; and one or more bushings disposed in the elastomeric portion for attaching the plow blade to the adapter blade and/or the moldboard. The one or more blade segments are generally shaped and positioned within the elastomeric portion such that a portion of each blade segment is disposed between at least one bushing and a top edge of the plow blade. These and additional embodiments will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description.
In the accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, embodiments of the invention are illustrated, which, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description given below, serve to example the principles of the inventions.
The present application discloses a plow blade having blade edge segments encased in an elastomeric material that permits the blade segments to move independently relative to the moldboard of the plow. The elastomeric material permits the blade edge segments to adjust to various irregularities in the roadway. As such, the plow blade edge is capable of conforming to the road surface and/or objects in or on the road surface, such as road markers. Further, the elastomeric material reduces or suppresses the forces experienced by the blade edge segments and at least partially absorbs the noise, shock, and vibration from the blade edge. As a result, the amount of wear (e.g., uneven wear) and damage to the blade edge segments is reduced and the useful life of the plow blade is increased.
The plow blade of the present application is intended to be universal in that it may be configured for use with any (or most) plowing systems. For example, the plow blade may be used with front plows, underbody plows, wing plows, or tow plows. Exemplary front plow configurations include bottom trip, trip plow, one-way, section trip, slide trip, V-plow, or folding V-plow configurations ranging from 8 to 32 feet in blade length. Exemplary underbody plow configurations include high speed hinged, folding moldboard, fixed, or reversible configurations ranging from 9 to 14 feet in blade length. Exemplary wing plow configurations include patrol wing, benching leveling wing, mid mount wing, front mount wing, extendable mid mount wing, or rear mount wing configurations ranging from 6 to 14 feet in blade length. The plow blade may also be used with a variety of tow plow configurations ranging from 5 to 32 feet in blade length.
A plow of the present application generally comprises a moldboard, and adapter blade attached to the moldboard, and a plow blade removably attached to the adapter blade. However, in certain embodiments, various other members may be used to attach the plow blade to the moldboard or the plow blade of the present application may be attached directly to the moldboard.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The adapter blade 108 shown in
Further, the adapter blade 108 acts as a secondary or backup blade for the plow 100. For example, should the plow blade 104 become damaged (e.g., one or more blade segments are removed) and/or is worn down, the cutting edge of the adapter blade 108 is exposed and will scrape along the roadway to remove snow or other materials from the roadway.
As illustrated in
One exemplary method of installing a plow blade to a plow moldboard includes utilizing an adapter blade having one or more first openings and one or more second openings. The one or more first openings of the adapter blade are aligned with one or more openings of a moldboard. One or more first fasteners are inserted through the one or more first openings of the adapter blade and the one or more openings in the moldboard to attach the adapter blade to the moldboard. Further, a plow blade is utilized comprising one or more blade segments; an elastomeric portion that at least partially surrounds the one or more blade segments and permits the one or more blade segments to move relative to the moldboard when the plow blade is attached to the adapter blade; and one or more bushings disposed in the elastomeric portion for attaching the plow blade to the adapter blade. The one or more blade segments are shaped and positioned within the elastomeric portion such that a portion of each blade segment is disposed between at least one bushing and a top edge of the plow blade. The one or more bushings of the plow blade are aligned with the one or more second openings of the adapter blade. One or more second fasteners are inserted through the one or more bushings of the plow blade and the one or more second openings of the adapter blade to attach the plow blade to the adapter blade. In certain embodiments, one or more openings of a mounting member are aligned with the one or more bushings of the plow blade and the one or more second fasteners are inserted through the one or more openings of the mounting member.
The plow blade of the present application generally comprises at least one blade segment, an elastomeric portion that at least partially surrounds the at least one blade segment, and at least one insert or bushing disposed in the elastomeric portion and having an opening for directly or indirectly mounting the plow blade to a moldboard. The elastomeric portion permits the blade segment to move relative to the moldboard when the plow blade is mounted to the moldboard.
The blade segments of the present application are generally shaped and positioned within the elastomeric portion such that at least a portion of the blade segment is disposed between a bushing and a top edge of the plow blade. In certain embodiments, the blade segments are also shaped and positioned within the elastomeric portion such that at least a portion of the blade segment is disposed between the bushing and a bottom edge of the plow blade. As such, the blade segments will interfere with the bushings should the blade segments move upward and/or downward a certain distance relative to the bushings. As a result, should a blade segment or a section of the plow blade that includes a blade segment become dislodged or removed from the elastomeric portion or the remainder of the plow blade, the blade segment or section will catch on the bushing such that it is not deposited on the roadway. This may occur, for example, if a portion of the plow blade (e.g., the elastomeric portion) is cut, ripped or otherwise damaged during use of the plow blade. Further, the bushings act as stops that prohibit over travel of the blade segments and over compression of the elastomeric material that may damage the plow blade.
In certain embodiments, the plow blade 200 is about four feet in length and the spaced bushing openings have a 6″-12″-12″-12″ layout. However, the plow blade of the present application may be sized and configured in a variety of ways to fit various plows or portions of a plow. For example, the plow blade 300 illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Further, as illustrated in
As illustrated in FIGS. 2B and 4-5B, at least one vertical side or edge 220A, 220B, and 282 of each blade segment 202A, 202B, and 204 extends inward toward the center of the blade segment to form a recessed portion 250. The recessed portions 250 at least partially surround the bushings 208 of the plow blade 200 and are shaped such that a first section 270 of the recessed portion is positioned between the bushing and the top edge 294 of the plow blade and a second section 272 of the recessed portion is positioned between the bushing and a bottom edge 296 of the plow blade. As such, the first and second sections 270 and 272 of the recessed portions 250 interfere with the bushings 208 when the blade segments 202A, 202B, and 204 move upward and/or downward a certain distance relative to the bushings.
The center blade segments 204 illustrated in
The recessed portions of the blade segments may be a variety of sizes and shapes. For example, the recessed portions may comprise one or more curved, arcuate, or straight edges forming a variety of shapes, including, but not limited to, circular, rectangular, oval, elliptical, square, triangular, and hour glass shapes. In certain embodiments, the blade segments may be positioned within the elastomeric material such that the recessed portions of adjacent blade segments collectively substantially surround one or more of the bushings. Further, one or more of the recessed portions may be configured such that only the first section is positioned between the bushing and the top edge of the plow blade, only the second section is positioned between the bushing and the bottom edge of the plow blade, or both. The recessed portions may also be sized and shaped to permit certain amounts of vertical, horizontal and rotational movement of the blade segments relative to the bushings.
As illustrated FIGS. 2B and 4-5B, the first section 270 of the recessed portions 250 of the center and end blade segments 202A, 202B, and 204 is curved and the second section 272 is straight. Further, the portion of the vertical side 220A, 220B, and 282 extending between the first section 270 of the recessed portion 250 and the top edge 406 and 506 of the blade segments 202A, 202B, and 204 forms a protruding end 460 and 560 that is disposed between the bushing 208 and the top edge 294 of the plow blade 200. Similarly, the portion of the vertical side 220A, 220B, and 282 extending between the second section 272 of the recessed portion 250 and the bottom edge 296 of the blade segment 202A, 202B, and 204 forms a protruding side 462 and 562 that is disposed between the bushing 208 and the bottom edge 296 of the plow blade 200. As illustrated in
The recessed portions 250 permit the blade segments 202A, 202B, and 204 to move vertically downward relative to the bushings 208 (from the neutral position shown in
The blade segments of the present application are generally constructed of steel. In certain embodiments, the end blade segments are about ¾ inch thick, about 5¾ inch wide, and about 5 inches long and the center blade segments are about ¾ inch thick, about 5¾ inch wide, and about 11 inches long.
One or more of the blade segments may have a milled groove in the bottom edge for an insert that is generally made of a harder material than the blade segment. For example,
The elastomeric material of the present application may be a variety of materials capable of holding the blade segments in position and permitting the blade segments to move independently relative to the moldboard of the plow. Exemplary materials include, but are not limited to, rubber, plastic or polyurethane materials that do not corrode in the presence of salt and water and are compatible with steel. Further, the properties of the elastomeric material and the overall thickness of the plow blade may vary between embodiments and/or be tuned to a specific plow, moldboard, or plow blade edge. For example, the hardness, stiffness, thickness, and/or density of the elastomeric material may vary based on the size, type, and/or configuration of the plow, moldboard, or plow blade edge.
In certain embodiments, the elastomeric material comprises a polyurethane material having a hardness between about 75 and 96 Durometer A and a density between about 1038 and 1235 kg/m3. In one particular embodiment, the elastomeric material comprises a polyurethane material having a hardness of about 85 Durometer A and a density of about 1163 kg/m3. Further, the polyurethane material may have an ultimate elongation of about 650%, a secant modulus of about 300% at 900 psi, a tensile strength of about 5500 psi, a tear strength (die C) of about 400 pli, a compression set of about 35%, and a bayshore rebound of about 30%.
In certain embodiments, the elastomeric material comprises a rubber compound having a hardness between about 50 and 80 Durometer A and a density between about 1107 and 1301 kg/m3. In one particular embodiment, the elastomeric material comprises a rubber compound having a hardness of about 67 Durometer A and a density of about 1160 kg/m3.
The elastomeric material of the present application may also comprise one or more materials joined or otherwise secured together to form the plow blade. For example, one or more portions of the elastomeric material may comprise a first material that is different than a second material found in one or more other portions of the elastomeric material. The type, hardness, stiffness, thickness, and/or density of the first material may be different than the second material. Different types of materials include, for example, various types of polyurethane, rubber or plastic.
The bushings of the of the present application may be constructed of a variety materials such as, for example, steel, powdered metal, plastic or urethane. For example, in certain embodiments, the bushings are constructed of steel or powdered metal. Further, the overall size of the plow blade may vary depending on the plow or plowing system. For example, in certain embodiments, the plow blade is about ⅞ inch thick, about 6 inches wide, and about 3 feet long. In other embodiments, the plow blade is about ⅞ inch thick, about 6 inches wide, and about 4 feet long.
The words used in the claims have their full ordinary meaning and are not limited in any way by the description of the embodiments in the specification. Further, as described herein, when one or more components are described as being connected, joined, affixed, coupled, attached, or otherwise interconnected, such interconnection may be direct as between the components or may be in direct such as through the use of one or more intermediary components. Also as described herein, reference to a “member,” “component,” or “portion” shall not be limited to a single structural member, component, or element but can include an assembly of components, members or elements.
While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the invention to such details. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. For example, where components are releasably or removably connected or attached together, any type of releasable connection may be suitable including for example, locking connections, fastened connections, tongue and groove connections, etc. Still further, component geometries, shapes, and dimensions can be modified without changing the overall role or function of the components. Therefore, the inventive concept, in its broader aspects, is not limited to the specific details, the representative apparatus, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the applicant's general inventive concept.
While various inventive aspects, concepts and features of the inventions may be described and illustrated herein as embodied in combination in the exemplary embodiments, these various aspects, concepts and features may be used in many alternative embodiments, either individually or in various combinations and sub-combinations thereof. Unless expressly excluded herein all such combinations and sub-combinations are intended to be within the scope of the present inventions. Still further, while various alternative embodiments as to the various aspects, concepts and features of the inventions—such as alternative materials, structures, configurations, methods, devices and components, alternatives as to form, fit and function, and so on—may be described herein, such descriptions are not intended to be a complete or exhaustive list of available alternative embodiments, whether presently known or later developed. Those skilled in the art may readily adopt one or more of the inventive aspects, concepts or features into additional embodiments and uses within the scope of the present inventions even if such embodiments are not expressly disclosed herein. Additionally, even though some features, concepts or aspects of the inventions may be described herein as being a preferred arrangement or method, such description is not intended to suggest that such feature is required or necessary unless expressly so stated. Still further, exemplary or representative values and ranges may be included to assist in understanding the present disclosure, however, such values and ranges are not to be construed in a limiting sense and are intended to be critical values or ranges only if so expressly stated. Moreover, while various aspects, features and concepts may be expressly identified herein as being inventive or forming part of an invention, such identification is not intended to be exclusive, but rather there may be inventive aspects, concepts and features that are fully described herein without being expressly identified as such or as part of a specific invention, the inventions instead being set forth in the appended claims. Descriptions of exemplary methods or processes are not limited to inclusion of all steps as being required in all cases, nor is the order that the steps are presented to be construed as required or necessary unless expressly so stated.
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