CA1153885A

CA1153885A - Snow plow attachment

Info

Publication number: CA1153885A
Application number: CA000413172A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Lucien Cote; Rejean Cote; Gilles Cote
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-10-08
Filing date: 1982-10-08
Publication date: 1983-09-20

Abstract

IMPROVED SNOW PLOW ATTACHMENT

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A snow plow attachment for a vehicle wherein a coupling mechanism is hingedly connected to a lower front frame of the vehicle. The coupling mechanism has a plow engaging displaceable frame and a stationary frame to which the displaceable frame is hingedly con-nected. Means is provided to displace the plow engaging frame. A front plow support frame is hingedly connected to a front plow. Engagement means is secured to the front plow support frame for engagement by the plow engaging frame. Support means is connected to the front plow support frame to maintain the engagement means at a desired position for the engagement by the plow engaging frame. Locking means is provided on the coupling mecha-nism to lock the front plow support frame with the vehicle lower front frame.

Description

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a snow plow attacnment for a vehicle and more particularly, but not exclusively, to an attachment for a front plow and wing plow combination and wherein most of the plow support frame is quickly attached and detached from the vehicle and displaceable to permit a forwardly hinged hood of a vehicle to be opened.
(b) Description of Prior Art Various types of snow plow attachments to detachably secure snow plows to a vehicle are known.
However, these have various disadvantages such as requir-` ing a bulky attachment frame to be permanently secured to the vehicle thus creating encumberance to the vehicle when the snow plow is not attached thereto and adding to the weight of the vehicle thereby increasing its fuel consumption. Further, damage is caused to such frames due to its permanent attachment to the vehicle. Another disadvantage of such permanently attached support frames is that often these require to be dismantled in part when certain repairs are required to the vehicle front end and in many cases require partial dismantling when it is necessary to lift the hood of the vehicle which is of common occurrence. A still further disadvantage of snow plow attachment frames heretofore known is that it is time consuming to attach the snow plow thereto and normally requires the assistance of at least two men to perform the installation. Also, often the installation requires the assistance of other vehicles such as fork-lift trucks whereby to lift the support frame to couple it to the vehicle and often such coupling must be done indoors. ~ ~ -- : -li5388S

Because of the difficulty in attaching and detaching snow plows to vehicle support frames, often these snow plows, or at least the wing plows, will remain attached to the vehicle throughout the winter months.
As stated hereinabove, this adds to the weight of the vehicle and thus makes it more expensive to operate due to the added fuel consumption. Usually a front plow will weigh approximately 2,500 pounds and a wing plow 1,200 pounds, thus adding considerably to the weight of the vehicle. Another disadvantage in leaving the plows attached to the vehicle is that fewer vehicles can be stored indoors as they occupy more space. A still further disadvantage in leaving plow attachment frames and the plows attached to the vehicle is that such frames usually impairs the vision of the operator thus making the vehicle less safe on the road. A reason for maintain-ing the snow plows attached to vehicles is that severity of snow storms are often unpredictable and due to the time consuming task of installing these plows it would be very difficult to equip a large fleet of trucks with plows on short notice. It often takes half an hour for two men to install a front plow and an additional twenty minutes to install a wing plow. Thus, it could take an entire day for two men to install plows on a fleet of ten trucks.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a snow plow attachment which substantially over-comes all of the above-mentioned disadvantages.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a snow plow attachment for a vehicle wherein 115~8~5 the majority of the snow plow support frame remains attached to the snow plow and is detachably securable to the vehicle in a very short time with the help of a single person~
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a snow plow attachment for a vehicle wherein much of the framework is detached from the vehicle and when secured thereto is hingeable forwardly whereby to permit a forwardly hinged hood of a vehicle to he opened for access to the engine area under the hood.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a snow plow attachment for detachably securing a front plow and a wing plow to a vehicle and wherein the plow comblnation and support frame is easily and quickly detachable from the vehicle.
According to a broad aspect of the present - invention there is provided a snow plow attachment for a vehicle of the type wherein a hood of the vehicle tilts forwardly from a lower hood hinge point. The attachment comprises a coupling mechanism hingedly connected to a lower front frame of the vehicle below the hood hinge point. The coupling mechanis~ has a plow engaging displaceable frame and a stationary frame to which the displaceable frame is hingedly connected. Means is provided to displace the plow engaging frame. A front ~ ;
plow support frame is hingedly cnneCtable to a front plow and extends in front and closely spaced to the hood when secured to the vehicle. Engagement means is secured to ."
the front plow support frame for engagement by the plow engaging frame. Support means is connected to the front ~ .

.
,. ' ' ' ' ~ ' 115~3E~85 plow support frame to maintain the engagement means at a desired position for engagement by the plow engaging frame. Locking means is provided on the coupling mecha-nism to lock the front plow support frame with the vehicle lower front frame. The plow engaging displaceable frame is a pivot plate having a pivot connection at its lower end pivotally connected to said stationary frame. The locking means has a first locking mechanism to immovably secure the pivot plate to the stationary frame and a second locking mechanism to immovably secure the front plow support frame to the pivot plate. Hook engaging means is provided in a top edge of the pivot plate for engagement with one or more hook coupling plates consti-tuting the engagement means of the front plow support frame whereby to permit the hood to tilt forwardly when the pivot plate is pivoted forwardly to clear the support frame from the front of the vehicle.

- 4a -,~

115;~8S

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the example thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a side view of the front plow support frame and the vehicle coupling mechanism for attaching a front plow to a vehicle;
FIGURE 2 is a side view, the same as Figure 1, but with the coupling mechanism connected to the front plow support frame and showing its tilted position with the hood of the vehicle open;
FIGURE 3 is a fragmented top view showing part of the front plow support mechanism with a wing plow secured thereto and additionally showing the wing plow coupling to a vehicle;
FIGURE 4a is a front view of the pivot plate of the coupling mechanism showing the locking mechanism;
FIGURE 4b is a rear view of the coupling mechanism pivot plate showing a further locking mechanism, FIGURE 5 is a fragmented perspective view of ; the coupling securing the wing plow to a vehicle; and FIGURE 6 is a side view of the wing plow coupler member secured to the attachment member. ~.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings and more particu-larly to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown the snow plow attachment of the present invention whereby to secure ~153~3BS

a front plow 10 and a wing plow 11 to a vehicle 12.
The attachment comprises a coupling mechanism 13 which is connected to a lower front frame 14 of the vehicle 12. The coupling mechanism has a plow engaging displace-able frame or pivot plate 15 and a stationary frame 16to which the displaceable frame 15 is hingedly connected at a pivot connection 17 in its lower end. A piston 18 constitutes a means to displace the displaceable frame 15 to swing outwardly downward as shown in Figure 1.
The displaceable frame 15 is constituted by a pivot plate having a hook engaging means 19 in a top edge thereof for engagement with a pair of coupling plates 20 extending rearwardly of a front plow support frame 21.
The coupling plates 20 are provided with a downwardly extending hook groove 22 whereby the top edge 19 of the pivot plate can be positioned therein and by retracting the pivot plate rearwardly to a vertical position causing the support frame 21 to lift upwardly and be engaged with the coupling mechanism 13.
The engagement of the front plow support frame 21 is effected by a first locking means 23 and a second locking means 24 as shown in Figures 4a and 4b, respect-ively. Both of the locking means 23 and 24 are consti-tuted by dual action piston cylinders 23' and 24' respect-ively with the first piston cylinder 23' being secured on the front wall 25 of the pivot plate 15. The cylinder is provided with pistons therein to actuate opposed locking piston rods 23" for displacement across opposed lock holes 26 provided in a pair of locking flanges 27.
The coupling plates 20 are each positioned between a ~:153~5 respective pair of these coupling flanges wherein a lock hole 28 provided in each coupling plates 20 are positioned in alignment with the lock holes 26. By actuating the locking piston rods 23'` outwardly the coupling plates are engaged to the pivot plate 15.
In order to immovably secure the pivot plate 15 to the stationary frame 16 it is firstly necessary to retract the pivot plate 15 to its vertical position and by doing so causing a pair of locking flanges 29 having a lock hole therein to locate themselves in alignment with a lock hole 30 provided in a pair of arms 16' of the stationary frame. By actuating the locking bolt 24" of the cylinder 24' the flange 29 is secured to the stationary arm 16' of the stationary frame 16. Thus, the front plow support frame 21 is : immovably secured to the stationary frame of the vehicle 12.
As shown in Figure 1 the front plow support frame 21 is supported on a ground surface 31 by support means constituted by a pair of telescopic legs 32. : :-These legs are adjusted in height whereby the hook groove 22 of the coupling plates 20 are maintained at a desired height relative to the stationary frame 16 of a vehicle 12 associated with the support frame 21.
By providing adjustment via the telescopic legs 32 the snow plow and its support frames are stored in readiness to be engaged by a designated vehicle without the requirement of manual labor or added vehicles to lift the plow support frame for engagement by the vehicle.
Simply, the pivot plate 15 is hinged outwardly and the 115388~, vehicle is advanced until the top edge 19 of the plate engages the hook grooves 22 as aforementioned. Once the frame is engaged the telescopic leg is retracted into the support frame, as shown in Figure 2. Also, as shown in Figure 2, in order to make clearance for the opening of the hood 33 of the vehicle, it is necessary to actuate the second piston cylinder 24 to unlock the pivot plate 15 from the stationary frame 16 and then to actuate the plate positioning piston 18 to cause the pivot plate 15 to tilt forwardly downward to displace the front plow support frame 21. Thus there is sufficient clearance for the hood 33 to hinge forwardly for access to the engine area under the hood.
In order to permit this tilting,the front plow support frame 21 is hingedly secured to a front plow frame 34 in any manner well known in the art and not shown herein. Also, the manner in which the plow is lifted is well known in the art and as herein shown a flexible connection 35 is secured to the front plow thus permitting the support frame 21 to be tilted forwardly as shown in Figure 2 whilst also permitting the plow to be lifted off the ground surface 31 by the actuation of a control piston 36 secured to a lever arm 37 supporting the flexible coupling 35.
Referring now additionally to Figures 3, 5 and 6, it can be seen that a wing plow 11 may also be secured to the front plow support frame. For this securement there is provided a wing plow attachment boom 40 which is connected at a side edge of the front plow support frame 21 and extending vertically thereto. The boom 40 is llS388'~
provided with a lifting cylinder 41 in a top portion thereof with the front end of the wing plow 11 having a hinge coupling 43 which is secured to a piston rod 42 associated with the cylinder 41. By retracting this piston rod 42 the front end of the wing plow 11 is lifted off the ground.
As shown more clearly in Figures 3, 5 and 6, a pair of coupling rods 44 is secured in a parallel spaced apart manner to a support bracket 45 secured adjacent the rear end of the wing plow 11 via universal joint couplings 46- The other ends of the coupling rod 44 are hingedly connected to a coupler member 47. The hinge connection 48 connecting the coupler member to the couping rods also permits horizontal and vertical displace-ment of the rod with respect to the coupler member 47.
A wing plow attachment member 49 is secured to the vehicle at a convenient location rearwardly of the cabin area 50 thereof. The wing plow attachment member is provided with a hooking arm 51 for engaging the coupler member 47 to secure it into the attachment member 49 whereby to attach the rear end of the wing plow to the vehicle.
The coupler member 47 is constituted by a pair of spaced apart vertical plates 47' with a space defined therebetween for the passage of the hooking arm 51. An engaging pin 52 is secured transversely intermediate the vertical plate 47' for engagement by the hook end 51' of the hook arm 51. The attachment member 49 is provided ; with a coupler member receiving slot 53 into which the coupler member 47 is located by the actuation of the ` ~531~19S

hooking arm 51. A hook arm actuating piston 54 retracts the hooking arm 51 into the slot 53 and precisely locates a pair of holes 55 provided in the vertical plates 47' in alignment with a pair of holes 56 located in the side walls 57 of the attachment member 49. Lock pins are then inserted through the holes 56 and 55 to lock the coupler member 47 to the attachment member 49. Figure 6 illustrates the position of the coupler member when secured to the attachment member.
Although not shown in the drawings, hydraulic connections are provided for the operation of all pistons to displace the front plow 10, the wing plow 11 and other pistons associated with the coupling mechanisms. These hydraulic connections are conveniently located behind the coupling mechanism connected to the lower front frame and the attachment member for securing the end rear of the wing plow.
Other mechanical framework and couplings normally associated with a front plow and wing plow, not forming part of this invention, have not been disclosed but are obvious to those skilled in the art. For example, the wing plow is provided with a lifting cylinder 60 as shown in Figure 5 to lift the wing plow upwardly towards the vehicle, as is well known in the art. It is, however, pointed out that it is within the scope of the present invention to cover any obvious modifications of the snow plow attach-ments herein described provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.

-- 10 _

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A snow plow attachment for a vehicle of the type wherein a hood of said vehicle tilts forwardly from a lower hood hinge point, said attachment comprising a coupling mechanism hingedly connected to a lower front frame of said vehicle below said hood hinge point, said coupling mechanism having a plow engaging displaceable frame and a stationary frame to which said displaceable frame is hingedly connected, means to displace said plow engaging frame, a front plow support frame hingedly connectable to a front plow and extending in front and closely spaced to said hood when secured to said vehicle, engagement means secured to said front plow support frame for engagement by said plow engaging frame, support means connected to said front plow support frame to maintain said engagement means at a desired position for said engagement by said plow engaging frame, locking means on said coupling mechanism to lock said front plow support frame with said vehicle lower front frame, said plow engaging displaceable frame being a pivot plate having a pivot connection at its lower end pivotally connected to said stationary frame, said locking means having a first locking mechanism to immovably secure said pivot plate to said stationary frame and a second locking mechanism to immovably secure said front plow support frame to said pivot plate, hook engaging means in a top edge of said pivot plate for engagement with one or more hook coupling plates constituting said engagement means of said front plow support frame whereby to permit said hood to tilt forwardly when said pivot plate is pivoted forwardly to clear said support frame from the front of said vehicle.

2. A snow plow attachment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first and second locking mechanisms comprise a dual action piston cylinder having opposed locking piston rods, said piston rods of said first locking mechanism extending through a lock hole in a respective coupling plate each positioned between a pair of locking flanges provided on a front wall of said pivot plate, said locking flanges also having aligned lock holes to receive an associated one of said locking piston rods, said piston rods of said second locking mechanism extend-ing through respective lock holes provided in said stationary frame.

3. A snow plow attachment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said support means comprises a pair of spaced apart telescopic legs secured to said front plow support frame to maintain said hook coupling plate at a desired position relative to said pivot plate of said displace-able frame secured to a vehicle associated with said front plow.

4. A snow plow attachment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means to displace said plow engaging frame is a plate positioning piston connected at opposed ends of said coupling mechanism between said pivot plate and said stationary frame to tilt said top edge of said pivot plate forwardly and downwardly from said vehicle lower front frame.

5. A snow plow attachment as claimed in claim 4 wherein said hook engaging means is a horizontally disposed engagement top edge of said pivot plate, said plate positioning piston being actuated to locate said engagement top edge in a hook groove in said hook coupling plates for coupling therewith.

6. A snow plow attachment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said front plow support frame is provided with a wing plow attachment boom, a wing plow hingedly connected to said boom at a forward end thereof, coupling rods secured to said wing plow adjacent a rear end thereof, a coupler member secured to a free end of said coupling rods, a wing plow attachment member secured to said vehicle and having a hooking arm for engagement of said coupler member to locate same in said attachment member at a predetermined position for positive engagement therewith.

7. A snow plow attachment as claimed in claim 6 wherein said coupler member is provided by a pair of spaced apart vertical plates being secured at a top and bottom end to a respective one of a pair of said coupling rods, an engaging pin transversely disposed intermediate said vertical plates for engagement by said hooking arm.

8. A snow plow attachment as claimed in claim 7 wherein said wing plow attachment member is provided with a coupler member receiving slot, said hooking arm being aligned with said slot to displace said coupler member therein, a hook arm actuating piston secured to said hooking arm for displacement thereof, and locking means to immovably secure said coupler member in said slot.

9. A snow plow attachment as claimed in claim 8 wherein said locking means is one or more lock pins extending across holes in opposed walls of said slot and aligned lock holes in said vertical plates of said coupler member.

10. A snow plow attachment as claimed in claim 7 wherein said wing plow attachment boom is a vertical channel secured to an end edge of said front plow support frame, a lifting piston cylinder secured to said boom and having a piston rod secured to a forward hinge connection of said wing plow whereby to lift said wing plow above a ground surface.

11. A snow plow attachment as claimed in claim 10 wherein said coupling rods are pivotally connected between said wing plow and said coupler member to permit horizontal and vertical displacement of said wing plow.