Claims
- 1. A support assembly adapted for partially supporting a plow assembly at a support surface when the plow assembly is disconnected from a vehicle, the plow assembly having a first end and a second end, the first end of the plow assembly having a plow blade, the second end of the plow assembly being adapted to removably connect to the vehicle, said support assembly comprising:
an actuator; a support foot interconnected to the plow assembly, said support foot being movable relative to the plow assembly in response to actuation of said actuator, said support foot being movable between a raised position and a lowered position, said support foot being movable to said lowered position to engage the support surface to support said second end of the plow assembly when the plow assembly is disconnected from the vehicle; and a control device which is operable to automatically deactuate said actuator to limit movement of said support foot at said lowered position in response to a signal indicative of said support foot contacting the support surface.
- 2. The support assembly of claim 1, wherein said actuator comprises an hydraulic cylinder which is operable to pivot said support foot relative to the plow assembly between said raised and lowered positions, said control device being operable to deactuate said hydraulic cylinder in response to said signal.
- 3. The support assembly of claim 2 including a fluid pressure switch for detecting a fluid pressure of said hydraulic cylinder, said fluid pressure switch being operable to communicate said signal to said control device in response to detection of a threshold fluid pressure of said hydraulic cylinder.
- 4. The support assembly of claim 2 including a contact switch positioned at a contact portion of said support foot, said contact switch being operable to communicate said signal to said control device in response to said contact portion of said support foot engaging the support surface.
- 5. The support assembly of claim 2 including a limit switch which is operable to detect a position of said hydraulic cylinder, said limit switch being operable to communicate said signal to said control device in response to detection of a threshold position of said hydraulic cylinder indicative of said support foot being at said lowered position.
- 6. The support assembly of claim 2 including a limit switch which is operable to detect a position of said plow assembly, said limit switch being operable to communicate said signal to said control device in response to detection of a threshold position of said plow assembly.
- 7. The support assembly of claim 2, wherein said control device includes an activating switch which is switchable between a raising position for raising said support foot and a lowering position for lowering said support foot, said control device being operable to actuate said hydraulic cylinder in response to said activating switch and to deactuate said hydraulic cylinder in response to said signal irrespective of a position of said activating switch.
- 8. The support assembly of claim 7, wherein said control device further includes a first latching relay device which is operable to actuate said hydraulic cylinder to raise said support foot in response to said activating switch being positioned at said raising position, and a second latching relay device which is operable to actuate said hydraulic cylinder to lower said support foot in response to said activating switch being positioned at said lowering position.
- 9. The support assembly of claim 8, wherein said second latching relay device is operable to actuate said hydraulic cylinder to lower said support foot in response to an initial positioning of said activating switch at said lowering position and to maintain actuation of said hydraulic cylinder until said signal is received by said control device irrespective of said position of said activating switch.
- 10. The support assembly of claim 9, wherein said first latching relay device is operable to a deactuate said hydraulic cylinder in response to a second signal being received by said control device which is indicative of said support foot being raised to a threshold position.
- 11. The support assembly of claim 10, wherein said first latching relay device is operable to actuate said hydraulic cylinder to raise said support foot in response to an initial positioning of said activating switch at said raising position and to maintain actuation of said hydraulic cylinder until said second signal is received by said control device irrespective of said position of said activating switch.
- 12. The support assembly of claim 1 including a contact switch positioned at a contact portion of said support foot, said contact switch being operable to communicate said signal to said control device in response to said contact portion of said support foot engaging the support surface.
- 13. The support assembly of claim 1 including a limit switch which is operable to detect a position of said plow assembly, said limit switch being operable to communicate said signal to said control device in response to detection of a threshold position of said plow assembly.
- 14. The support assembly of claim 13, wherein said control device is operable to actuate said actuator in response to a control input and to deactuate said actuator in response to said signal.
- 15. The support assembly of claim 14, wherein said control device is operable to deactuate said actuator in response to a second signal being received by said control device which is indicative of said support foot being raised to a threshold position.
- 16. The support assembly of claim 15 including a position sensor which is operable to detect a position of said support foot relative to the plow assembly, said position sensor being operable to communicate said second signal to said control device in response to detection of a threshold position of said support foot.
- 17. The support assembly of claim 15, wherein said control device is further operable to actuate said actuator to vertically adjust the plow blade when the plow assembly is connected to the vehicle.
- 18. The support assembly of claim 1, wherein said control device includes an activating switch which is switchable between a raising position for raising said support foot relative to the plow assembly and a lowering position for lowering said support foot relative to the plow assembly.
- 19. The support assembly of claim 18, wherein said control device is operable to lower said support foot in response to said activating switch being positioned at said lowering position and to limit movement of said support foot in response to said signal irrespective of a position of said activating switch.
- 20. The support assembly of claim 19, wherein said control device is operable to raise said support foot in response to said activating switch being positioned at said raising position and to limit movement of said support foot in response to a second signal irrespective of said position of said activating switch, said second signal being indicative of said support foot being at a threshold raised position.
- 21. The support assembly of claim 1, wherein said support foot is pivotably mountable to the plow assembly and is pivotable to engage the support surface.
- 22. The support assembly of claim 21, wherein said actuator is further operable to pivot the plow assembly relative to the vehicle to vertically adjust the plow blade when the plow assembly is connected to the vehicle.
- 23. The support assembly of claim 1, wherein said support foot is configured to be positioned at a draw latch of the plow assembly, the draw latch being movable to engage the vehicle and to pull the plow assembly toward the vehicle for connection thereto.
- 24. The support assembly of claim 23, wherein the draw latch is selectably operable between a pulling mode and a plow adjusting mode, said control device being configured to be operable when the draw latch is in the pulling mode.
- 25. The support assembly of claim 24, wherein said actuator is operable to adjust said draw latch.
- 26. A plow assembly adapted for mounting to a vehicle, the vehicle having a plow mounting portion, said plow assembly comprising:
a lift arm assembly having a first end and a second end, said first end of said lift arm assembly adapted for connection with a plow blade, said second end of said lift arm assembly adapted to removably and movably connect to the plow mounting portion of the vehicle; a support assembly movably interconnected to said lift arm assembly, said support assembly including a support foot extending from said lift arm assembly, said support foot being movable between a raised position and a lowered position for supporting said second end of said lift arm assembly at a support surface when said lift arm assembly is disconnected from the plow mounting portion of the vehicle; an actuator which is operable to move said support foot relative to said lift arm assembly toward said lowered position; and a control device which is operable to actuate said actuator to move said support foot toward said lowered position in response to a control input, said control device being further operable to automatically limit downward movement of said support foot relative to said lift arm assembly in response to a signal indicative of said support foot engaging the support surface.
- 27. The plow assembly of claim 26, wherein said actuator is further operable to vertically adjust said plow blade when said plow assembly is connected to the plow mounting portion of the vehicle and said support foot is moved to said raised position.
- 28. The plow assembly of claim 27, wherein said support assembly is pivotally mounted to a draw latch assembly, said draw latch assembly being operable to engage the plow mounting portion of the vehicle and pull said plow assembly toward the vehicle.
- 29. The plow assembly of claim 28, wherein said draw latch assembly is selectably operable between a pulling mode and a plow adjusting mode, said control device being operable when said draw latch assembly is in said pulling mode.
- 30. The plow assembly of claim 26, wherein said actuator comprises an hydraulic cylinder.
- 31. The plow assembly of claim 30 including a fluid pressure switch for detecting a fluid pressure of said hydraulic cylinder, said fluid pressure switch being operable to communicate said signal to said control device in response to detection of a threshold fluid pressure of said hydraulic cylinder.
- 32. The plow assembly of claim 26 including a contact switch positioned at a contact portion of said support foot, said contact switch being operable to communicate said signal to said control device in response to said contact portion of said support foot engaging the support surface.
- 33. The plow assembly of claim 26 including a limit switch which is operable to detect a position of said actuator, said limit switch being operable to communicate said signal to said control device in response to detection of a threshold position of said actuator indicative of said support foot being at said lowered position.
- 34. The plow assembly of claim 26 including a limit switch which is operable to detect a position of said lift arm assembly, said limit switch being operable to communicate said signal to said control device in response to detection of a threshold position of said lift arm assembly.
- 35. The plow assembly of claim 26, wherein said control device includes an activating switch which is switchable between a raising position for raising said support foot and a lowering position for lowering said support foot, said control device being operable to actuate said actuator in response to said activating switch and to deactuate said actuator in response to said signal irrespective of a position of said activating switch.
- 36. The plow assembly of claim 35, wherein said control device further includes a first latching relay device which is operable to actuate said actuator to raise said support foot in response to said activating switch being positioned at said raising position, and a second latching relay device which is operable to actuate said actuator to lower said support foot in response to said activating switch being positioned at said lowering position.
- 37. The plow assembly of claim 36, wherein said second latching relay device is operable to actuate said actuator to lower said support foot in response to an initial positioning of said activating switch at said lowering position and to maintain actuation of said actuator until said signal is received by said control device irrespective of said position of said activating switch.
- 38. The plow assembly of claim 37, wherein said first latching relay device is operable to a deactuate said actuator in response to a second signal being received by said control device which is indicative of said support foot being raised to a threshold position.
- 39. The plow assembly of claim 38, wherein said first latching relay device is operable to actuate said actuator to raise said support foot in response to an initial positioning of said activating switch at said raising position and to maintain actuation of said actuator until said second signal is received by said control device irrespective of said position of said activating switch.
- 40. The plow assembly of claim 26, wherein said control device is operable to deactuate said actuator in response to a second signal being received by said control device which is indicative of said support foot being raised to a threshold position.
- 41. The plow assembly of claim 40 including a position sensor which is operable to detect a position of said support foot relative to said lift arm assembly, said position sensor being operable to communicate said second signal to said control device in response to detection of a threshold position of said support foot.
- 42. The plow assembly of claim 26 including activating switch which is switchable between a raising position for raising said support foot relative to the plow assembly and a lowering position for lowering said support foot relative to the plow assembly, said activating switch communicating said control input to said control device in response to said position of said activating switch.
- 43. The plow assembly of claim 42, wherein said control device is operable to lower said support foot in response to said activating switch being positioned at said lowering position and to limit movement of said support foot in response to said signal irrespective of a position of said activating switch.
- 44. The plow assembly of claim 43, wherein said control device is operable to raise said support foot in response to said activating switch being positioned at said raising position and to limit movement of said support foot in response to a second signal irrespective of said position of said activating switch, said second signal being indicative of said support foot being at a threshold raised position.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. pat. application, Ser. No. 09/706,034, filed Nov. 3, 2000 by Philip J. Quenzi and Cal G. Niemela for PLOW HITCH ASSEMBLY FOR VEHICLES, which is a continuation of U.S. pat. application, Ser. No. 09/243,908, filed Feb. 3, 1999 by Philip J. Quenzi and Cal G. Niemela for PLOW HITCH ASSEMBLY FOR VEHICLES, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,669, which are both hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
09243908 |
Feb 1999 |
US |
Child |
09706034 |
Nov 2000 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Date |
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09706034 |
Nov 2000 |
US |
Child |
09903367 |
Jul 2001 |
US |