Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Title of the Invention
Snowplow with positive rake angle cutting blade and ice scraper
Cross-Reference to Related Applications
[0001] The present patent application relates to an is claiming priority from
United
States Provisional Patent Application No. 62/753,328, entitled "SNOWPLOW AND
ICE
SCRAPER AND METHOD THEREOF", filed at the United States Trademark and
Patent Office on October 31', 2018, the content of the '328 application is
incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety.
Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention generally relates to snow and ice removing
machines. More
particularly, the present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted snowplow in
which the
snowplow is provided with a front pivot and optionally with an ice scraper.
Background of the Invention
[0003] Snowplow assemblies are commonly mounted to a variety of vehicles
during
winter season in order to efficiently remove snow from paths, sideways,
roadways and
other areas. Actually, now in the market, there are various kinds of vehicle-
mounted
snowplows. Examples of conventional snowplow assemblies are provided in U.S.
Pat.
Nos. 5,109,618, 5,121,562, 6,073,371 and 9,359,734. However, the shortcomings
are
obvious for these snowplows.
[0004] The cutting blade of the snowplow is generally rectangularly shaped and
positioned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, near its
ground-
contacting portion, which pushes snow straight ahead instead of having the
snow
"rolling" in the snowplow. However, this kind of snowplow is easily
susceptible to
jamming.
[0005] Moreover, as the snowplow blade does not have sufficient ability to
remove
efficiently ice that may adhere to the road, it is necessary to replace the
snowplow with an
ice rake and scrape the road a second time to remove the ice. This is
inefficient and a
waste of time and energy.
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[0006] Another drawback for existing snowplows is also evident when the
snowplow
encounters an obstacle as the bottom ground-contacting edge of the snowplow,
more
precisely the cutting blade, pivots to avoid the obstacle. Indeed, the cutting
blade is
pivotally mounted relatively to the support frame of the snowplow and is
spring-biased to
resiliently contact the obstacle. With its pivotal movement, the pivotable
cutting blade
moves downward pivoting toward the rear of the snowplow in a circular motion
thereby
allowing the snowplow to ride over the obstacle. This pivotal motion of the
pivotable
cutting blade vertically lifts the entire snowplow from its normal snowplowing
position
scraping to the road. As the cutting blade overcome the obstacles and the
snowplow
momentarily jumps above the road surface, it will leave a large area of snow
which will
not be removed.
[0007] Thus, there is still a need for an improved snowplow for more
efficiently
removing the snow and preferably the ice at the same time.
Summary of the Invention
[0008] The shortcomings of the prior art are generally mitigated by providing
a vehicle-
mounted snowplow with a positive rake angle snow blade, a segmented blade and
optionally, an ice scraper.
[0009] In an aspect of invention, the snowplow generally comprises a snowplow
with a
ground scraping portion comprising one or more pivotally mounted cutting
blade. The
pivots are disposed above the cutting blade and mounted on the front facing
surface of the
plow to improve the cutting blade pivotal motion. When the snowplow encounters
obstacles, the cutting blade pivotal motion pivots the cutting blade
rearwardly without
significant, or any, downward motion causing the snowplow to "jump" upwardly
because
the cutting blade pivot position is substantially vertically aligned with the
cutting blade
that is substantially located at its lowest position in regard to its pivotal
motion. Indeed,
the location of the cutting blade pivot allow the snowplow to ride over the
obstacles while
reducing the upward movement effect on the snowplow when the cutting blade
pivots.
[0010] In another aspect of invention, the ground-contacting cutting blade
comprises a
plurality of widthwise-disposed pivotally mounted cutting blade segments that
are
adjoined and juxtaposed to one another. When the snowplow encounters
obstacles, the
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bottom edge of the cutting blade segments which get in contact with the
obstacles are
pivoting rearwardly and thereby permit the snowplow to ride over the obstacles
while the
other segments will remain in contact with the road surface thus limiting or
preventing
leaving unremoved snow on the ground where the obstacle was and where the
cutting
blade pivoted.
[0011] In another aspect of invention, the supporting assembly also comprises
an
elongated shaft which one end is mounted to a first supporting frame member
and which
extends along an axis thereof though a center of a biasing member, such as a
spring. The
other end of the elongated shaft is connected to an upper connecting member.
[0012] In another aspect of invention, the snowplow also comprises two scoop
wings
located on opposing side walls of the snowplow blade. The pair of scoop wings
are
secured on the snowplow blade with a mechanism allowing some vertical movement
to
accommodate variations in the road surface while reasonably keeping the road-
contacting
portions of the snowplow in contact with the road.
[0013] In an aspect of invention, an ice scraper is optionally fixed to the
plow assembly
behind the snowplow blade. The ice scraper is generally made from a rigid
material at the
bottom of which there are a row of ice breaking teeth which dig into the ice.
The ice
scraper is disposed with the middle portion thereof more advanced in front of
the
snowplow to provide enough room on each lateral side for the pivotal motion of
the two
scoop wings that would otherwise interfere in their pivotal movements toward
the rear.
[0014] In one aspect of the invention, a snowplow is provided. The snowplow
comprises
a frame configured to be attached to a vehicle with a vehicle attachment for
pushing the
snowplow in a longitudinal direction, a main blade connected to a forward
portion of the
frame, the main blade including a radius of curvature; and at least one
cutting blade
disposed at a bottom portion of the main blade in a ground-contacting
configuration
disposed in a positive rake angle in substantial continuity with the radius of
curvature of
the main blade, the at least one cutting blade being pivotable about a pivot
axis, wherein
the pivot axis is located in front the main blade in an horizontal and
transversal direction.
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[0015] The pivot axis may be located vertically above the at least one cutting
blade or
may further be vertically located above a ground-contacting portion of the at
least one
cutting blade.
[0016] The ground-contacting portion of the at least one cutting blade may be
located at
an angle of about between 60-degree and 80-degree with the ground when the
snowplow
is in an operating configuration.
[0017] The at least one cutting blade may be operatively connected to a
biasing member
biasing the at least one cutting blade in a forward direction thereof The
biasing member
is a spring and/or may include an axis thereof disposed in an inclined
position. The axis
of the biasing member may further be in a direction substantially virtually
intersecting a
ground-contacting portion of the at least one cutting blade.
[0018] The at least one cutting blade may be a plurality of cutting blades.
The plurality of
cutting blades may comprise a substantially similar transversal length.
[0019] The snowplow may further comprise a pair of lateral scoops pivotable
between a
front-facing configuration and a rear-facing configuration. Each of the pair
of lateral
scoops may comprise a ground contacting piece attached thereto; the ground-
contacting
piece being adapted to pivot in respect with a first part of the lateral
scoop.
[0020] The snowplow may further comprise an ice scraper connected to the frame
behind
the main blade. The ice scraper may comprise a plurality of longitudinally
offset ice-
scraping portions. The ice scraper may further comprise a plurality of
longitudinally
offset ice-scraping portions includes two lateral ice-scraper portions located
in a position
allowing rearward interference-free pivotal motion of the pair of lateral
scoops.
[0021] Other and further aspects and advantages of the present invention will
be obvious
upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be described or
will be
indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to
herein will occur
to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
[0022] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention
will
become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being
made to
the accompanying drawings in which:
[0023] Figure 1 is a front right perspective view of a vehicle-mountable
snowplow and
ice scraper in accordance with the principles of the present invention and in
accordance
with at least one embodiment thereof;
[0024] Figure 2 is a right-side elevation view of the snowplow and ice scraper
of Figure 1
with a biasing member in an uncompressed state in accordance with at least one
embodiment thereof;
[0025] Figure 3 is a right-side elevation view of the snowplow and ice scraper
of Figure 1
with a biasing member in a compressed state in accordance with at least one
embodiment
thereof;
[0026] Figure 4 is a right-side elevation view of the snowplow and ice scraper
of Figure 1
with the snowplow blade and the ice scraper touching the ground at the same
time in
accordance with at least one embodiment thereof;
[0027] Figure 5 is a front elevation view of a snowplow in accordance with the
invention
with two scoop wings in a wide operating position in accordance with at least
one
embodiment thereof;
[0028] Figure 6 is front elevation view of the snowplow blade of Figure 5 with
one of the
scoops in a wide operating position in accordance with at least one embodiment
thereof;
[0029] Figure 7 is rear-right partial perspective view of the snowplow blade
of Figure 5
with the scoop wings in a forward operating position in accordance with at
least one
embodiment thereof;
[0030] Figure 8 is a front-bottom perspective view of a snowplow in accordance
with at
least one embodiment thereof;
[0031] Figure 9 is a perspective view of a portion of the upper connecting
member of the
snowplow of Figure 5 in accordance with at least one embodiment thereof; and
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[0032] Figure 10 is a perspective view of the first supporting frame member
with
emphasis on the biasing member of the snowplow of Figure 5 in accordance with
at least
one embodiment thereof
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
[0033] A novel vehicle-mountable front pivot snowplow will be described
hereinafter.
Although the invention is described in terms of specific illustrative
embodiments, it is to
be understood that the embodiments described herein are by way of example only
and
that the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited thereby.
[0034] A front pivot snowplow is provided. The front pivot snowplow generally
comprises a snowplow blade with its bottom edge pivotally mounted to the plow
blade by
front pivots, an optional ice scraper and a vehicle attachment. During
plowing, when the
snowplow encounters obstacles, part of bottom cutting blades of the snowplow
pivot and
thereby permit the snowplow to ride over the obstacles. The location of the
pivots is
selected to limit as much as possible the upward movement of the plow when the
cutting
blade hits an obstacle, pivots and move downward and rearward with the object-
avoiding
pivotal motion.
[0035] Now referring to Figure 1, an embodiment of a snowplow 1 is shown. The
snowplow 1 generally comprises a snowplow main blade 10, an optional ice
scraper 20
and a vehicle attachment 30. The snowplow main blade 10 is generally embodied
in
rectangular shape and preferably curved from bottom to top to make the snow
rolls in the
plow main blade 10 instead of just pushing on the snow in front. In an
embodiment, as
shown in Figure 1, the snowplow main blade 10 has a rectangular front section
and a
curved profile with a substantially constant radius R. The merits of the
curved plow main
blade 10 is significant, while the main blade 10 moves forward, it rolls snow
thereon and
excess snow rolls off a side of the main blade 10 for being expelled from the
main blade
10. At the bottom of the main blade 10, cutting blades 11 are pivotally
secured to the
main blade 10 by pivots 42 located above the cutting blades 11 and on the
front facing
surface of the main blade 10.
[0036] The main blade 10 is preferably embodied with a curved shape, at the
bottom of
which comprises a plurality of slots 14 which are substantially parallel to
each other. A
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plurality of pivot assemblies 40 are attached to the bottom of the main blade
10. A front
top portion of each pivot assembly 40 extends through its respective slot 14.
The lower
portion of pivot assembly 40 is also connected to the cutting blade 11 via a
plurality of
vertical supports 13 and lateral supports 15. In a preferred embodiment, each
cutting
blade 11 is attached to respective lateral supports 15 using fasteners, nuts
and bolts or
welding.
[0037] As can been seen, in some embodiments, the cutting blade 11 and
associated
support 15 comprise an aperture 12 adapted to receive a bolt and a nut to
fasten the
cutting blade 11 and the supports together. Preferably, the support 13 can
alternatively be
welded to the support 15. Other methods to attach or mount the cutting blade
11 to the
supports 15 may be used and remain within the scope of the present invention.
[0038] Now referring to Figures 1 to 3, a pivot assembly 40 for pivotally
connecting the
cutting blade 11 with the snowplow blade 10 is illustrated. Generally, the
pivot assembly
40 comprises a first supporting frame member 41a and a second supporting frame
member 41b. The second supporting frame member 41b is fixed to the main blade
10
with a method such as welding. In a preferable embodiment, one end of the
first
supporting frame member 41a is welded to the rear side of the support 15 via
vertical
supports 13, and another end is pivotally fastened to the second supporting
frame member
41b. The second supporting frame member 41b is directly welded to the bottom
surface
of the main blade 10 and the support 13 is also welded to the support 15. When
the
snowplow 1 encounters the obstacle, the cutting blade 11, the supports 13 and
15 and the
first supporting frame member 41a will pivot about pivot 25 rearwardly and
upwardly
relatively to their normal position so that only the cutting blade 11 that is
contacting the
obstacle rides over the obstacle.
[0039] Now still referring to Figure 3, the pivot assembly 40 also comprises
an elongated
member 51, such as a rod but illustrated with a flat member of steel, to
operatively secure
a spring 45 in its axial direction. In the illustrated embodiments, the
elongated member 51
comprises lower and upper ends. The lower end is mounted to the first
supporting frame
member 41a and generally extends along the axial direction of the spring 45
through a
center of the biasing member, such as a spring 45 in the illustrated
embodiment. The
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upper end of the elongated member 51 is be held in place by an upper spring
flange
member 52 and a pivot 44. In a preferable embodiment, the pivot 44 is engaged
with the
support 60 or inserted in an aperture of support 60. The generally circular
upper spring
flange 52 is secured around the upper portion of the elongated member 51 which
contacts
and secures the upper end of the spring 45. Compression of the spring 45 is
made by
translation of the elongated member 51 through the spring 45 and about a pin
65 moving
through a slot 46 disposed in the longitudinal direction of the elongated
member 51. A
lock member 47 is further engaged in the uppermost portion of the elongated
member 51
to lock the elongated member 51 in the spring 45. Removal of the spring can be
achieved
by simply pushing on the associated cutting blade 11 to pivot the cutting
blade 11 and
remove compression from the lock member 47 as illustrated in Figure 3. Once
the lock
member 47 is liberated, it can be removed and the spring 45 can be disengaged
from the
elongated member 51 upon releasing pressure from the cutting blade 11. As can
been
seen from Figure 3, the lower end of the spring 45 is fixed to the first
supporting frame
member 41a via a pivot 43 and the elongated member 51. In such operation, a
preloaded
or precompressed replacement spring (not shown) may be installed to easily
replace the
disengaged and removed spring 45.
[0040] The spring 45 is in its extended state when the snowplow 1 is in a snow-
pushing
configuration for pushing the snow without avoiding an obstacle, as
illustrated in Figure
2. When the snowplow 1 encounters an obstacle 70, the bottom cutting blade 11
contacting the obstacle will pivot rearwardly and upwardly in relation to its
pivot 42 and
the spring 45 will be compressed so that the snowplow 1 rides over the
obstacle 70
without significant upward reaction movement. Once the obstacle is overcome,
the
bottom cutting blade 11 will forwardly rotate back to its normal position to
continue to
scrape snow.
[0041] The location of the cutting blade 11 pivot in front of the main snow
blade 10 is
close, or preferably aligned, on top of the cutting blade 11 to prevent the
cutting blade 11
to rotate and produce a substantial downward movement and influence the
snowplow 1 to
react and move upward in response to the pivotal movement of the cutting blade
11. The
embodiment illustrated in Figure 2 illustrates the pivot almost vertically
located above the
cutting blade 11. Other embodiments where the pivot is vertically aligned with
the cutting
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blade 11 is encompassed by the present description. Locating the pivot in
front of the
main blade 10 provides a geometry giving an angle to the cutting blade 11,
like a positive
rake angle, to more efficiently scrape the snow on the road and makes the snow
roll in
front of the main blade 10. The illustrated embodiment is of about 70-degree
angle with
the ground. This is in contrast where the pivot behind the main blade 10 to
alleviate the
vertical reaction of snowplow 1 with the pivotal motion of the cutting angle
11, would
require the lower portion of the main blade 10 and the cutting blade 11 to be
vertically or
substantially vertically disposed. This configuration would fail to provide
the positive
rake angle to the lower portion of the snowplow, a neutral rake angle would be
obtained,
hence pushing the snow forward instead of making the snow roll and be more
easily
moved and extracted from the snowplow 1. The angle of the spring 45 is also
inclined to
reach under the curve of the main blade 10 to the pivot assembly 40 and the
cutting blade
11.
[0042] In a preferable embodiment, the cutting blade 11 comprises a plurality
of
widthwise-disposed blade segments 111, 112, 113, 114, and 115 that are
adjoined to one
another. Each blade segment 111, 112, 113, 114, and 115 has a desired width
which
depends on various factors, such as the width of the machine and the material
of the
machine and the anticipated size of potential obstacles.
[0043] Now referring to Figures 1-4, the illustrated cutting blade 11 is
designed in five
distinct parts to hold five blade segments 111, 112, 113, 114, and 115.
However, it is
possible to design the pivot assembly 40 with a different number of blade
segments. In
some embodiments, the snowplow blade 10 has similar supporting assemblies 40
for each
blade segment 111, 112, 113, 114, and 115.
[0044] The merits using a plurality of blade segments may be various. Firstly,
when the
snowplow moves in a forward direction to remove snow and ice on the road and
encounters an obstacle 70 which has a width that will contact only a limited
width portion
of the bottom cutting blade 11 and is strongly connected to the ground in such
a manner
that the snowplow 1 cannot plow it, only the corresponding blade segment(s)
111, 112,
113, 114, or 115 will be actuated and compressed to ride over the obstacle 70
while other
blade segment(s) 111, 112, 113, 114, or 115 may plow snow normally. Secondly,
the
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segmented cutting blades 111, 112, 113, 114, and 115 is allowing a limited
number of
cutting blades segment(s) to be actuated when contacting the obstacle 70 thus
limiting the
inertia of the mechanism and also limiting the force required to actuate the
cutting
blade(s) 111, 112, 113, 114, and 115 since all the cutting blades segments
111, 112, 113,
114, and 115 are unlikely to all be actuated simultaneously. Thirdly, when
some part of
the cutting blade is broken, it is easy and economical to just remove the
broken cutting
blade segment 111, 112, 113, 114, or 115 and to replace it with a new cutting
blade
segment. Another advantages of the segmented blades assembly provides the
possibility
to use different cutting blade materials over the width of the snowplow 1. For
example,
hardened steel might be used on the lateral sides of the snowplow 1 where it
is likely
more prone to contact foreign objects while urethane or other suitable polymer
or
composite materials could be used in the middle portion of the snowplow 1 to
limit the
scaping effects on the road.
[0045] Now referring to Figures 1 to 4, an ice scraper 20 is fixed to the
snowplow frame.
The ice scraper 20 is generally made from a rigid material, such as but not
limited to
compound plastics, carbon steel, etc. Understandably, any other suitable
material known
in the art may be used. At the bottom of the scraper 20, a number of teeth 21
are provided
to help to dig into the ice and remove the resulting ice fragments. The
detailed structure
of the ice scraper will be described later.
[0046] The snowplow blade 10 and the ice scraper 20 may be operated
simultaneously.
In some territories, such as Quebec, Canada, ice storms may cover roads with a
layer of
ice which cannot be removed using a snowplow alone. In such cases, the
snowplow 1
may be tilted such that both the ice scraper 20 and the snowplow 10 will be in
contact
with the road, as illustrated in Figure 4 in contrast with a leveled position
illustrated in
Figure 3. It is also possible to tilt the snowplow 1 further such that only
the ice scraper 20
will be in contact with the road although this configuration is not
illustrated in the figures.
If there is no need to remove ice, the control unit (not shown in the figures)
will lift the
ice scraper 20 and leave only the blade segments 111, 112, 113, 114, and 115
of the
snowplow blade 10 in contact with the ground (shown as in Figure 2).
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[0047] Other means known to the people skilled in the art may be used to
connect the ice
scraper 20 to the snowplow blade 10. In a preferable embodiment, two
horizontal
connecting plates 22, 23 are used. An L-shaped connecting plate 24 is welded
to the
horizontal connecting plate 22 and the ice scraper 20 is fastened to the L-
shaped
connecting plate 24 by welding, bots and nuts, etc.
[0048] Now referring to Figures 1 to 4, a vehicle attachment 30 is used to
connect the
snowplow with an appropriate vehicle preferably a loader. In a preferable
embodiment,
the vehicle attachment comprises two hooks or brackets 30 which are disposed
parallel to
each other. Understandably, other suitable means known in the art may be used.
[0049] Now referring to Figures 5-7, in some embodiments, the snowplow may
also
comprise two scoop wings 101, 102 each located on opposing end walls of the
snowplow
blade 10. Preferably, the scoop wings 101, 102 are retractable and pivot along
a vertical
axis 101', 102' respectively on the side walls of the snowplow blade 10 so
that the scoop
wings can be moved from an operating position to a non-operating position and
vise-
versa. Detailed information can be seen from Figure 7. The scoop wings 101,
102 are
fixed about the axes 101', 102' that allow them to pivot about said axis 101',
102'. The
first hydraulic actuator 103 and the second actuator 104 combine their efforts
to make the
scoop wings 101, 102 pivot forwardly or rearwardly at any selected angle
between 90
and 180 .
[0050] When the scoop wings 101, 102 are rotated so as to be in substantially
the same
plane as that of the blade 10, the overall width of the snowplow 1 is
increased by the
respective length of each side scoop wings that is so extended. When the scoop
wings
101, 102 are rotated forwardly so as to be in substantially perpendicular the
plane of the
blade 10, the overall width of the snowplow 1 will not change but the scoop
wings 101,
102 will retain snow that would otherwise escape from the sides of the
snowplow 1.
Similarly, when the snowplow 1 rearwardly transports the snow, the scoop wings
101,
102 may be rearwardly pivoted such that they extend perpendicularly rearwardly
of the
snowplow.
[0051] In a preferable embodiment illustrated at Figure 5, the scoop wings
101, 102 are
respectively made of three parts 101a, 101b, and 101c. As seen in Figure 7, in
the first
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part 101a, there are a plurality of slots configured to receive connection
means 105, 106,
107. The height of each slot is larger than the length of the connecting means
105, 106,
107 which allows vertical adjustment of the lower pieces 101b, 101c in respect
with the
first part 101a to match a desired height to properly cooperate with the road
condition.
Such pivotal and vertical adjustment is assisted by two spring mechanisms
illustrated in
Figure 7 at the right of the connection means 105 and at the left of the axle
101' to allow
a degree of adjustment of the lower pieces assembly 101b and 101c to keep the
entire
snowplow 1 as much in contact with the ground as possible despite the shape of
the
ground on the distalmost lateral portions of the snowplow 1. Further, the
lower piece
101c has functions analogous to the pivotable blade segments 111, 112, 113,
114, and
115 of the snowplow blade 10 to rotate around the lower piece 10 lb. The lower
piece
101c, which acts as a pivotable edge of the snowplow blade 10.
[0052] Now referring to Figure 8, another embodiment of the ice scraper 20 is
illustrated.
The ice scraper 20 is divided into a plurality of portions 20a, 20b, and 20c.
These three
ice scraper portions 20a, 20b may be assembled in a longitudinally stagged
configuration.
Preferably, the first ice scraper portion 20a and the second ice scraper
portion 20b are not
longitudinally aligned with the third ice scraper portion 20c, the first ice
scraper portion
20a and the second ice scraper portion 20b are located rearwardly in relation
to the third
ice scraper portion 20c. Also, when the snowplow blade 1 pushes snow
rearwardly with
the use of the scoop wings 101, 102 in the rearwardly pivoted configuration to
prevent
collision between the scoop wings 101. 102 and the ice scraper 20. These three
ice
scraper portions 20a, 20b, 20c may be made of strong materials, such as, but
not limited
to, polymer, plastics, steel and so on. At the bottom of the ice scraper
portions 20a, 20b,
20c, there is also a row of teeth which allows digging into the ice when the
ice scraper
portions 20a, 20b, 20c are biased toward the ground and the snowplow 1 is
pushed
forward.
[0053] Now referring to Figure 9, the upper portion of a pivoting assembly 60
is
illustrated. A first tab 61 and a second tab 62 are connected to the back side
of the
snowplow blade 10 by welding or any other mean known to the people skilled in
the art.
A third tab 63 and a fourth tab 64 are welded together where the fourth tab 64
is fastened
to the upper end of the elongated member 51 of the pivoting assembly 60. The
second tab
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62 and the third tab 63 are fastened together by a bolt and a nut are used ¨
although the
second tab 62 and the third tab 63 are illustrated detached from one another
in the
illustrated embodiment of Figure 9. Each of the first tab 61 and fourth tab 64
is sized and
designed to accommodate the pin 65 therein so as to retain the elongated
member 51
therethrough when the second tab 62 and the third tab 63 are secured to the
snowplow
blade 10 structure with the required fasteners (not illustrated). The third
tab 63 can be
removed from the second tab 62 to remove the pin 65 from the first tab 61 when
the
spring 45 should be removed for maintenance.
[0054] Now referring to Figure 10, the lower end of the elongated member 51 is
pivotally
attached to the first supporting frame member 41a by a fastener or another
mechanical
locking pin 66. Preferably, the first supporting frame member 41a is capable
of securely
receiving the pin 66, or other like device, so as to engage the elongated
member 51 to the
first supporting frame member 41a. When the resilient member 45 needs be
removed, it is
relatively easy to detach the pin 66 to remove the elongated member 51 from
the
snowplow blade 10. A locking mechanism 67 is used to make sure the pin 66 is
not going
to disengage when not required. The locking mechanism 67 typically comprises
two
perpendicularly intersected faces separately against to the plow blade and the
pin 66
which create the force to keep the pin 66 engaged in the first tab 61 and from
the first
supporting frame member 41a. Understandably, any other mean to attach and/or
lock yet
unlock the elongated member 51 remain within the scope of the present
invention.
[0055] A method for plowing snow and ice is described. The method comprises
the
following steps:
[0056] Selectably attach an adjustable snowplow to a vehicle.
[0057] Lower the adjustable snowplow to the desired height relative to the
ground
beneath the snowplow blade.
[0058] Optionally, tilt the snowplow until the ice scraper is in contact with
the ground.
[0059] Direct the vehicle to which the adjustable plow is attached in a
direction to which
it is desired to remove snow.
[0060] Displace snow and /or ice to the desired location.
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CA 03118365 2021-04-30
WO 2020/087179
PCT/CA2019/051551
[0061] While illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the invention
have been
described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that the inventive
concepts may be
otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are
intended to
be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior
art.
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