SNOW GROOMER PLOW ASSEMBLY

LAME DE DAMEUSE DE NEIGE

English Abstract

A plow is supported for movement with respect to a frame of a vehicle with a lifting cylinder and a rolling cylinder. The lifting cylinder and the rolling cylinder are pivotally connected with respect to each other by a bracket that is pivotally supported by the frame. By this connection, the rolling cylinder can freely rotate with the bracket, thus increasing the plow displacement in both a raised and lowered position without adversely affecting the aggressivity of the plow while grooming terrain.

French Abstract

L'invention concerne une dameuse qui bouge par rapport au châssis d'un véhicule muni d'un cylindre de levage et d'un cylindre roulant. Le cylindre de levage et le cylindre roulant sont reliés ensemble par pivotement au moyen d'un crochet soutenu par pivotement par le châssis. Grâce à cette connexion, le cylindre roulant peut tourner librement avec le crochet, ce qui augmente le déplacement de la dameuse en une position surélevée ou abaissée, sans nuire à la force de la dameuse durant l'aménagement des terrains.

Claims

What is claimed is:
1. A plow vehicle, comprising:
a frame;
a plow;
a lifting cylinder pivotally connected to the plow and pivotally connected to
the frame; and
a rolling cylinder connected to the plow at a first end and pivotally
connected to the lifting cylinder at a second end;
whereby displacement of the lifting cylinder causes a displacement of the
pivotal connection between the rolling cylinder and the lifting cylinder.
2. The plow vehicle of claim 1, wherein the pivotal connection between
the lifting cylinder and the rolling cylinder has a pivot axis that coincides
with the
pivotal connection between the lifting cylinder and the frame.
3. The plow vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a bracket fixedly
attached to the lifting cylinder, the bracket including the pivotal connection
between
the lifting cylinder and the rolling cylinder.
4. The plow vehicle of claim 3, wherein the bracket further comprises the
pivotal connection between the lifting cylinder and the frame.
5. The plow vehicle of claim 4, further comprising a rigid arm pivotally
connected to the plow and pivotally connected to the frame.
6. The plow vehicle of claim 5, wherein the lifting cylinder is pivotally
connected to the rigid arm.
6

Description

CA 02443765 2007-11-08
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
SNOW GROOMER PLOW ASSEMBLY
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to a plow assembly for a snow
groomer. In particular, the present invention concerns a design where the
displacement
capability of the plow is increased.
2. Discussion of Related Art
[0002] The front plow of a snow groomer is designed to accomplish
multiple functions. In particular, it can be used for pushing snow to make a
snow park.
A snow park is defined as a recreational area where a snow bank is fashioned
in a
specific manner to welcome snowboarders, skiers and the like. When
constructing the
snow bank, the plow pushes snow up to a certain height that is limited by the
plow
assembly. More specifically, it is limited by the extension of the cylinders
and the
rolling angle of the plow. The assembly of prior art snow plows limits the
displacement
of the plow because the rolling cylinder has a fixed pivot point.
[0003] There are examples in the prior art of snow plows with an increased
plow displacement. Specifically, the prior art includes the description of an
adaptor that
can be fixed to the plow assembly. The system consists of removing the whole
plow
assembly in order to install the adaptor and then reinstalling the plow
assembly over the
adaptor. The adaptor is considered complicated to install (over 8 hours
required for
installation) and costly (thousands of dollars).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] A basic principle underlying the apparatus of the present invention
is to use a parallelogram configuration to replace a triangle configuration
for the
1

CA 02443765 2007-11-08
cylinder assembly of the bracket assembly that is used to attach the plow to
the vehicle.
More specifically, the movement of the bracket, relative to (or dependant
from) the
lifting cylinder pivot point increases the displacement of the rolling
cylinder. Therefore,
the increased displacement of the rolling cylinder increases the "roll" of the
apparatus.
[0005] Effectively, the bracket assembly of the present invention allows
the plow displacement to increase in an elevated position and in a lowered
position
without affecting the agressivity of the plow while grooming.
[0006] The aggressivity of the plow is described as the increase of the
rolling angle of the plow when using the lifting cylinder without the rolling
cylinder.
The rolling cylinder pivot point being free of displacement and depending on a
parallelogram configuration decreases this effect compared to a triangle
configuration
where the rolling angle is increased.
100071 This invention is directed to a plow vehicle comprising a frame, a
plow, a lifting cylinder pivotally connected to the plow for lifting the plow
with respect
to the frame, a rolling cylinder pivotally connected to the plow for tilting
the plow with
respect to the frame, and a bracket pivotally connected to the frame. The
lifting cylinder
is fixedly connected to the bracket and the rolling cylinder is pivotally
connected to the
bracket.
[0008] This invention is also directed to a plow vehicle comprising a
frame, a plow, a lifting cylinder pivotally connected to the plow and
pivotally
connected to the frame, and a rolling cylinder connected to the plow at a
first end and
pivotally connected to the lifting cylinder at a second end. Displacement of
the lifting
cylinder causes a displacement of the pivotal connection between the rolling
cylinder
and the lifting cylinder.
100091 This invention is further directed to a plow vehicle comprising a
frame, a plow, a lifting cylinder pivotally connected to the plow and
pivotally
connected to the frame, and a rolling cylinder pivotally connected to the plow
at a first
end and pivotally connected to the frame at a second end. Displacement of the
lifting
2

CA 02443765 2007-11-08
cylinder causes a displacement of the pivotal connection between the rolling
cylinder
and the frame.
100101 These and other aspects of the invention will become apparent upon
reading the following disclosure in accordance with the Figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The details and advantages of the present invention will become
more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction
with
the accompanying drawings.
[0012] FIG. 1 is a side view of a cylinder assembly used to connect a plow
support to a vehicle in accordance with the prior art;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a side view of a cylinder assembly using the bracket in
accordance with this invention to connect a plow support to a vehicle;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a side view of the plow and support of FIG. 1 connected to
a vehicle in accordance with the prior art shown in a lowered position and a
raised
position;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a side view of the plow and support with the bracket of
FIG. 2 connected to a vehicle in accordance with this invention shown in a
lowered
position and a raised position; and
[0016] FIG. 5 is a view of a vehicle using the bracket in accordance with
the invention as part of the plow support assembly.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0017] This invention is described for illustrative purposes for use on a
vehicle such as a snow groomer, which is typically a tracked vehicle having
snow
grooming tools and accessories connected thereto. As would be appreciated by
one of
3

CA 02443765 2007-11-08
ordinary skill in the art, this device would be applicable to any type of
vehicle used to
move and shape the ground, including snow and earth. Thus, this invention is
not
limited to use on a snow groomer, but rather is intended to be applicable to
earth
moving equipment used in farming and construction as well.
100181 Typically, a snow groomer 100 has a plow 15, seen in FIGS. 3 and
4, used to move material and shape terrain. Control of the vehicle and the
plow 15 is
conventional and would be understood by those skilled in the art and therefore
is not
discussed in detail herein.
[0019] In prior art assemblies, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, a plow support is
formed as a series of pistons 10 including cylinders, such as hydraulic or
pneumatic as
known, connected to a vehicle frame 21. A rigid arm 28 also connects to the
plow 15.
[0020] As seen in FIG. 1, the plow support includes a lifting cylinder 19, a
rolling cylinder 25, and rigid arm 28. The lifting cylinder 19 is connected to
the frame
21 at pivot point 13 to rotate around pivot point axis 18. The slidable piston
associated
with lifting cylinder 19 is secured to an end 30 of the rigid arm 28 at a
pivot point 34.
The rigid arm 28 is connected at one end 32 to the frame 21 and the other end
30 to the
plow 15 at a pivotal connection 36, also seen in FIG. 3. The rolling cylinder
25 is
connected to the frame 21 above the lifting cylinder 19 at a pivot point 14 to
rotate
around a pivot axis 17. The other end of the rolling cylinder 25 is connected
to the plow
15 at the other end 24, as seen schematically in FIG. 3. As can be seen in
dashed lines
in FIG. 1, the movable cylinders that define the movement of the plow define a
triangle
with the pivot points 13 and 14 in a fixed relationship. By this, the lifting
and rolling
movement of the plow 15, illustrated in FIG. 3, is constrained. In FIG. 3, the
lowered
position 30 is shown in solid lines, while the raised position 40 is shown in
dotted lines.
[0021] FIG. 2 shows a side elevation of the cylinders assembly 10 after the
installation of the bracket 12 in accordance with this invention that makes
the rolling
cylinder pivot point 14 unconstrained by attachment to the frame 21 to which
the plow
15 is attached. FIG. 4 shows a side elevation of the whole plow assembly 20
after the
installation of the bracket 12 that makes the rolling cylinder pivot point 14
4

CA 02443765 2007-11-08
unconstrained in its movement. FIG. 4 also shows the plow 15 in a lowered
position 30
in solid lines and a raised position 40 in dotted lines.
[0022] As shown in FIG. 4, the rolling cylinder pivot point 14 and the
lifting cylinder pivot point 13 are rotatably secured to the bracket 12 around
their
respective axis 17 and 18. The rolling cylinder pivot point 14 is also secured
so that it
can freely rotate with the bracket 12 around the lifting cylinder pivot point
axis 18 with
the displacement of the lifting cylinder 19. The lifting cylinder pivot point
18 is also
attached to the frame 21. Therefore, it is rotatably secured to the frame 21
and the
bracket 12. By this, the movable cylinders 10 define a movable parallelogram
with the
pivot point 13 being the only fixed position.
[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the new bracket 12 allows the plow
displacement 16 to increase from about 25.5 to 43.1 degrees in an elevated
position 40
and from about 22.3 to 34.4 degrees in a lowered position 30 without affecting
the
agressivity of the plow 15 while grooming. FIG. 2 also shows the rolling
cylinder 25
attached to plow 15 at a first end 24 (plow 15 shown in FIG. 4) and rolling
cylinder 25
pivotally attached to bracket 12 at a second end 26.
[0024] The rigid arm 28 is also shown in FIG. 2. Arm 28 is pivotally
connected to the plow 15 at its first end 30 at pivotal connection 36 (plow 15
shown in
FIG.4) and to the frame 21 at its second end 32. It would be recognised by one
skilled
in the art that when lifting cylinder 19 is activated, arm 28 is forced to
pivot about its
second end 32 with respect to the frame 21 and thus displaces the plow 15 in a
generally vertical direction. Preferably, lifting cylinder 19 is pivotally
connected to the
arm 28 at pivotal connection 34 to prevent any tilting of the plow 15 while
plow 15 is
being vertically lifted. As would be recognised by one skilled in the art,
pivot point 34
could be situated on the plow 15 as well.
[0025] Other arrangements of the present invention will be apparent to
those skilled in the art and are, therefore, encompassed by the description
hereinbefore.

Representative Drawing