PLOW MOLDBOARD ASSEMBLY HAVING MULTIPLE GROUND ENGAGING BLADES

VERSOIR DE CHARRUE A SOCS DE BINAGE MULTIPLES

English Abstract

A novel plow moldboard assembly having a multiple ground engaging blades is disclosed. An elongate blade receiving slot is defined by front and rear walls and two end walls disposed rearward of the rear major face of the moldboard and which extends along the bottom edge of the moldboard. A plurality of ground engaging blades are arranged in side-by-side relationship, each one having front and rear blade faces and upper and lower blade portions. The front face of the lower portion is forwardly offset relative to the front face of the upper rectangular portion such that the upper rectangular portion is received in the slot and held in position by detachable securing means. Damaged blades, which are relatively light in weight can be individually removed from the elongate slot and replaced with an undamaged blade. If desired, the front and rear faces of all of the blades can collectively be reversed thereby extending the life of each blade.

French Abstract

Un nouveau versoir de charrue ayant des socs de binage multiples est divulgué. Une fente de réception de lame allongée est définie par les parois avant et arrière et deux parois d'extrémité situées à l'arrière de la face principale postérieure du versoir et qui s'étend le long du bord inférieur du versoir. Une pluralité de socs de binage sont disposés côte à côte, chacun ayant des surfaces de soc avant et arrière et des parties de socs supérieure et inférieure. La surface avant de la partie inférieure est décalée vers l'avant par rapport à la face avant de la partie rectangulaire supérieure de telle sorte que la partie supérieure rectangulaire est accueillie dans la fente et maintenue en position par des moyens de fixation amovibles. Des socs endommagés, qui sont relativement légers en poids peuvent être retirés individuellement de la fente allongée et remplacés par un soc en bon état. Si souhaité, les faces avant et arrière de tous les socs peuvent retourner collectivement pour prolonger la durée d'utilisation de chaque lame.

Claims

I CLAIM:
1. In a plow assembly of the type comprising a moldboard having front and
rear major faces and an elongate bottom edge, a plurality of ground engaging
blades arranged in side-by-side relationship along and below said bottom edge,
and means for detachably securing said ground engaging blades to said
moldboard, the improvement comprising:
(a) a moldboard having an elongate blade receiving slot defined by
rear and front walls and two end walls and which is disposed rearward of
said rear major face and which extends along said bottom edge;
(b) ground engaging blades each one of which is of generally solid
rectangular configuration having front and rear blade faces and upper and
lower rectangular blade portions and wherein the front face of said lower
portion is forwardly offset relative to the front face of said upper
rectangular portion such that said upper rectangular portion is received in
said slot and held in position by said detachable securing means, and the
front face of said lower rectangular portion along said bottom edge is
substantially flush with said front major face of said moldboard.
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2. The plow assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front face of said
upper rectangular portion is rearwardly offset relative to the front face of
said
lower rectangular portion along a front ledge, and wherein said front ledge
abuts
an undersurface of said elongate bottom edge.
3. The plow assembly as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the rear face of
said lower rectangular portion is rearwardly offset relative to the rear face
of said
upper rectangular portion along a rear ledge, and wherein said rear ledge
abuts
a bottom of said rear wall of said elongate slot.
4. The plow assembly as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the thickness of
said upper rectangular portion corresponds to the width of said slot and has a
thickness which is less than then thickness of said lower rectangular portion.
5. The plow assembly as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein said upper
rectangular portion is disposed centrally over said lower rectangular portion
and
the width of said upper rectangular portion is less then the width of said
lower
rectangular portion.
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6. The plow assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein a gap is defined
between said upper rectangular portions of adjacent ground engaging blades
and a transverse wall extends between said front and rear walls of said slot
through said gap.
7. The plow assembly as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, wherein the
upper rectangular portion of each ground engaging blade includes an aperture
extending through said front and rear faces thereof and each said ground
engaging blade is detachably secured to said moldboard by pin connecting
means extending through said front and rear walls and said aperture.
8. The plow assembly as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, wherein said
front wall of said slot comprises a portion of said rear major face which
extends
along and above said elongate bottom edge of said moldboard.
9. The plow assembly as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8, wherein
the sidewalls of adjacent lower rectangular blade portions are in overlapping
relationship.
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10. The plow assembly as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8, wherein
the sidewalls of adjacent lower rectangular blade portions are in tongue and
groove overlapping relationship.
11. The plow assembly as claimed in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9,
wherein
said plow assembly is a snowplow blade assembly or an earth moving plow
assembly.
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Description

CA 02436144 2003-07-29
PLOW MOLDBOARD ASSEMBLY HAVING MULTIPLE GROUND
ENGAGING BLADES
Technical field
The subject invention generally relates to a plow assembly of the type
comprising a moldboard with one or more ground engaging blades detachably
secured to the moldboard and which are located along and below its bottom
edge.
Background art
Plow moldboards such as those used in earth removal or snow plowing
operations are typically constructed with one or more replaceable ground
engaging blades which are commonly made out of hardened steel.
Blades as used on conventional snowplows normally have an 11 foot long steel
backing or moldboard with three, 44 inch carbide blades bolted to it. These
blades are very heavy (approximately 150 pounds for a steel backing and 75
pounds for each carbide section) and are susceptible to a short wear life due
to
their ongoing abrasive wear with the ground. Blade replacement can be time
consuming particularly where the attachment bolts are bent or frozen, and also
relatively dangerous due to their weight.
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CA 02436144 2003-07-29
Disclosure of the invention
This invention is directed towards a plow assembly of the type comprising a
moldboard and a plurality of ground engaging blades which are detachably
secured to the moldboard and arranged in side-by-side relationship along and
below the bottom edge of the moldboard.
In accordance with one aspect of this invention, the moldboard which has front
and rear major faces and an elongate bottom edge, is provided with an elongate
blade receiving slot defined by rear and front walls and two end walls that is
disposed rearward of the rear major face of the moldboard and which extends
along the bottom edge of the moldboard. A plurality of ground engaging blades
are provided for, each one having a generally solid rectangular configuration
with
front and rear blade faces and upper and lower rectangular blade portions, and
which are detachably secured to the moldboard in side-by-side relationships.
The front face of the lower portion is forwardly offset relative to the front
face of
the upper rectangular portion such that the upper rectangular portion is
received
in the slot and held in that position by the detachable securing means.
Further,
because the front face of the lower portion is forwardly offset relative to
the front
face of the upper rectangular portion, it can advantageously lie in a plane
flush
with the front major face of the moldboard.
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CA 02436144 2003-07-29
In accordance with another feature of this invention, the forward offset
between
the front faces of the upper and lower rectangular portions of each blade can
comprise a front ledge between the two and which abuts an undersurface of the
elongate bottom edge of the moldboard. This feature effectively distributes
any
upwardly directed impact experienced by a given blade to the moldboard along
the surface of the front ledge, thereby reducing the impact force which would
otherwise be applied to the means which detachably secures the blade to the
moldboard, such as a nut and bolt or locking pin arrangement.
In order to better distribute the vertical and/or rearwardly directed impacts
or
blows experienced by a given blade, in a like fashion, the rear face of the
lower
rectangular section can be rearwardly offset relative to the rear face of the
upper
rectangular section along a rear ledge. Since the rear ledge is designed to
abut
a bottom portion of the rear wall forming the elongate slot, impacts are
translated
to the moldboard along the ledge rather than simply at the bolt or pin
connection
of the blade to the moldboard.
In order to minimize free play between the upper rectangular portion which is
located within the slot, its thickness should generally correspond to the
width of
the slot. The slot itself is preferably also open along the top of its
elongate
extent so that should a damaged blade require removal and be physically
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CA 02436144 2003-07-29
jammed within the slot, it can be accessed from the open top portion of the
slot
for the purpose of driving it out in a downward direction.
Preferably, the upper rectangular portion of each blade is disposed centrally
over
its lower rectangular portion, thereby facilitating the above described front
and
rear ledges. Additionally, the width of the upper rectangular portion can be
shorter than the width of the lower rectangular portion so that a gap is
created
between the upper rectangular portions of adjacent ground engaging blades. By
employing gaps of this nature, within the elongate slot, a row of in-line sub-
slots
can be created and separated by a series of transverse walls extending between
the front and rear walls of the elongate slot. In this arrangement, the upper
rectangular portion of each blade and more particularly its front and rear
faces
and sidewalls are contained within the interior sidewalls of the sub-slots and
which inpart added support to the blade located therein.
In order to add additional support to adjacent blades, in another preferred
form
of this invention, the sidewalls of adjacent lower rectangular blade portions
can
overlap one another such that a frontal impact experience by a given blade is
not
absorbed entirely by that blade but rather at least in part communicated over
to
its overlapping and neighbouring blade. In a preferred arrangement, the
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CA 02436144 2003-07-29
sidewalls of adjacent lower blade portions overlap in a tongue-and-groove
manner.
Brief descriation of the drawings
Figure 1 is a fragmentary rear perspective view of the moldboard and ground
engaging blades embodying principles of this invention;
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the moldboard and blade assembly taken along
the lines 2-2 of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of adjacent ground engaging blades
which are identical to one another and wherein a gap is created between the
upper rectangular portions of adjacent blades and which also illustrate the
overlapping sidewalls of the lower rectangular portions of the blade;
Figure 4 is a top plan view of the adjacent ground engaging blades taken along
the lines 4-4. of Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a similar view to that of Figure 3, but where the sidewalls of
lower
rectangular portion of adjacent blades have a tongue and groove overlap; and
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CA 02436144 2003-07-29
Figure 6 is a top plan view of adjacent blades taken along the lines 6-6 of
Figure
5.
Detailed description of the drawings
While the plow assembly of my invention has application to and can be used in
earth moving or grading operations, the assembly illustrated in Figures 1
through
6 is directed towards a plow assembly as may be used in snow removal
operations.
As illustrated, the snow plow assembly comprises curved moldboard 1, having
front and rear major faces 2 and 3 as well as top edge 4 and bottom edge 5 as
is
well known in the art.
As best seen in Figure 1, an elongate blade receiving slot is formed from a
rear
wall in the form of an elongate bar 6, a front wall which in this instance is
made
up from the lower portion of the rear major face 3, and a pair of end walls 7
adjacent to ends 8 of moldboard 1 (only one of end wall 7 and moldboard end 8
being shows in Figures 1 and 2).
As is also well known in the art, rear face 3 of moldboard 1, which itself can
be
made up from a single or multiple pieces of metal welded together (not shown),
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CA 02436144 2003-07-29
is provided with a plurality of spaced apart reinforcing ribs 10. For reasons
which
will be apparent from that which follows, ribs 10 can advantageously extend
interiorly of the elongate slot between elongate bar 6 and rear face 3 and
welded
thereto in a known manner. As will also be apparent, ribs 10 including the rib
forming the end walls 7 of the elongate slot effectively create a series of
inline
sub-slots or cavities therebetween, which each receive rectangular upper
portion
11 of detachable blades 12.
Referring now to Figures 3 through 6, each ground engaging blade 12 is of
generally solid rectangular configuration, having front and rear blade faces
13
and 14, upper rectangular portion 11, and lower rectangular portion 15. The
front face 13 of lower portion 15 is forwardly offset relative to upper
portion 11
along front ledge 1 T. In a like manner, on the rear blade face 14, rear ledge
18
is created between rearwardly offset lower portion 15 and upper portion 11.
As also seen in Figures 3 through 6, a spacing or gap exists between upper
portions 11 of adjacent blades 12 and which spacing is slightly larger than
the
thickness of ribs 10 seen in Figure 1. As noted above and again with reference
to Figure 1, upper portions 11 of blades 12 are respectively received in the
sub-
slots defined between opposed ribs 10, elongate bar 6 and rear face 3 of
moldboard 1. Each blade is held in location within a sub slot by means of
locking
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CA 02436144 2003-07-29
connectors such as locking pins 20 which extend through apertures 21 in blades
12 as well as corresponding inline apertures 22 and 23 respectively located in
the elongate bar 6 and moldboard.
In order to better distribute impact forces experienced by any one of blades
12
during plow operations, and as seen in Figures 3 and 4, the sidewalls 25 of
the
lower portion 15 of identically shaped blades 12 can be stepped so that
adjacent
ones inter-engage and thereby provide some lateral support when a blade
experiences an abnormal frontal impact. Additionally, because the upper
rectangular portion 11 is smaller than and centrally positioned over lower
rectangular portion 15, it is effectively surrounded by front and rear ledges
17
and 18 and transverse side ledges 19. While upper rectangular portion 11 is
received in the sub-slots and held in position by pin connectors 20, upwardly
directed ground impacts experienced by a blade are transmitted to the
remainder
of the assembly as a result of ledges 17, 18 and 19 abutting the undersurface
5
of the moldboard, the undersurface 9 of elongate bar 6, and the undersurface
or
terminal end of rib 10, respectively.
As illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the sidewalls of like blades rather than
being
stepped, can be grooved at one end as seen at 40, and provided with a tongue
41 at the other end for a more positive interlocking between the two. However,
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CA 02436144 2003-07-29
and because each blade 12 can be identical to it's neighbouring blade, it is
apparent that, if desired, the front and rear blade faces 13 and 14 can be
reversed.
In the event a blade 12 becomes damaged, it can be easily removed by first
withdrawing locking pin 20 from apertures 20, 21 and 21. Should upper
rectangular section 11 of blade 12 become jammed in a sub-slot, because the
slot is open at its top, once the pin is removed, it can be driven out of the
sub-
slot from the top.
Other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from a study
of
the drawing, the description and the appended claims.
9

Representative Drawing