Snow Plow Blade Lift/Lower System for Stand-On Skid Steer Vehicle

This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/644,601 filed May 9, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth in its entirety.

This invention relates generally to plows, and more particularly to snow plows for use on stand-on skid steer vehicles.

Miniature stand-on skid steer vehicles have seen increased use as host vehicles for mounting snow plows for plowing small parking lots and sidewalks. The speed, maneuverability, and compact size of these vehicles makes them an ideal candidate for small scale snow plowing operations.

In typical current commercial offerings, snow plow blades are pivotally connected to the frame of the stand-on skid steer vehicle. The pivot axis of the blade is usually under the vehicle and near the rotational axis of the front wheels. Due to the rather short distance from the pivot axis to the blade, this design is unable to lift the blade very high. For stacking snow and for transporting the vehicle from job site to job site, it is desirable to lift the blade higher than what current commercial offerings are capable of. In addition, vehicle ground clearance is compromised due to the position of the pivot axis and associated structure. This can lead to damaging impacts to the pivot axis and associated structure, as well as undesirable debris accumulation in these areas.

An alternative mounting solution for mounting a snow plow blade to a stand-on skid steer is to support the blade from the forward ends of a pair of long arms like those often seen on full-sized skid steers. On full-sized skid steers the rear ends of the arms are pivotally connected to the vehicle frame such that the pivot axis of the arms is generally above and behind the rear wheels. This solution would permit the blade to be lifted quite high and would not have a negative impact on the ground clearance of the vehicle. However, the long arms, each requiring its own hydraulic piston/cylinder, would be heavy and expensive.

Accordingly, further improvement in mounting solutions for mounting snow plow blades to stand-on skid steer vehicles is desired.

In one aspect, a snow plow blade lift/lower system for a stand-on skid steer vehicle comprises a mount frame adapted to be attached to a frame of the vehicle, a lift frame attached to the mount frame, a motion generating device operable between the lift frame and the mount frame for raising and lowering the lift frame relative to the mount frame, an A-frame attached to the lift frame, and a plow blade attached to the A-frame. The mount frame and the lift frame have cooperating structure for guiding the lift frame and hence the plow blade in a non-rotational curvilinear path as the motion generating device raises and lowers the lift frame.

The cooperating structure can be as follows. The mount frame can have first and second pairs of pins. The first pair of pins can be transversely spaced from the second pair of pins. The pins of each pair of pins can be vertically spaced. The lift frame can have first and second pairs of slots. The first pair of slots can be transversely spaced from the second pair of slots. The slots of each pair of slots can be vertically spaced. The first pair of pins can ride in the first pair of slots and the second pair of pins can ride in the second pair of slots. Alternatively, the mount frame can have the first and second pairs of slots, and the lift frame can have the first and second pairs of pins. The slots of each pair of slots can be straight and non-parallel.

The slots of each pair of slots can be at least in part are curved. The curved sections of the slots can have either a constant radius or a variable radius.

The lower ones of the pins of each pair of pins can be rearward of the upper ones of the pins of said pair of pins.

The lower ones of the slots of each pair of slots can be rearward of the upper ones of the slots of each pair of slots.

The lower ones of the slots of each pair of slots can each have an upper end and a lower end. The lower end can be rearward of the upper end. The upper ones of the slots of each pair of slots can each have an upper end and a lower end. The upper end can be rearward of the lower end.

The lift frame can have first, second, third, and fourth pairs of slots.

The cooperating structure can be configured such that the non-rotational curvilinear path taken by the plow blade results in a lowermost forwardmost edge of the blade moving vertically upward but not substantially horizontally rearward, and an uppermost forwardmost edge of the blade moving vertically upward and horizontally rearward.

The motion generating device can be a hydraulic cylinder having a lower end pivoted to the mount frame and an upper end pivoted to the lift frame.

In another aspect, a snow removal vehicle comprises a stand-on skid steer vehicle having a vehicle frame, and the above described snow plow blade lift/lower system attached to the vehicle frame.

In another aspect, a tool lift/lower system for a vehicle comprises a mount frame adapted to be attached to a frame of the vehicle, a lift frame attached to the mount frame, a motion generating device operable between the lift frame and the mount frame for raising and lowering the lift frame relative to the mount frame, a support frame attached to the lift frame, and a tool attached to the support frame. The mount frame and the lift frame have cooperating structure for guiding the lift frame and hence the tool in a non-rotational curvilinear path as the motion generating device raises and lowers the lift frame.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the summary of the invention given above, and the detailed description of the drawings given below, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.

Referring to, there is illustrated a stand-on skid steer vehiclehaving mounted thereon a snow plow blade (or other tool, implement, or attachment) lift/lower systemaccording to the principles of the present invention. The vehiclehas an engine and associated transmission whereby the left side pair of wheels and the right side pair of wheels can be individually controlled relative to one another, a standing platform whereby a user can stand on and drive the vehicle, and a frame.

Referring to, the systemhas a mount frameattached to the vehicle frame, a lift frameattached to the mount frame, a motion generating device, for example hydraulic cylinder, operable between the lift frameand the mount framefor raising and lowering the lift framerelative to the mount frame, a support frame or “A-frame”attached to the lift frame, and a plow bladeattached to the A-frame. The mount framecan be removably attached or permanently attached to the vehicle frame.

The mount framehas an upstanding platewith a pair of left hand arms,and a pair of right hand arms,, both pairs extending rearwardly therefrom and attached to the vehicle frame. Platehas a pair of left hand plates,and a pair of right hand plates,, both pairs extending forwardly therefrom. Each of the left hand plate pairs,and right hand plate pairs,has an upper pinand a lower pinsecured thereto.

The lift framehas an upstanding platewith a pair of left hand plates,and a pair of right hand plates,, both pairs extending rearwardly therefrom. Each plate of the left hand plate pairs,and right hand plate pairs,has an upper slotand a lower slot. Pinsride in slotsand pinsride in slots.

Plateof mount framehas a pair of armsprojecting forwardly therefrom and plateof lift framehas a pair of armsextending rearwardly therefrom. The lower end of hydraulic cylinderis pivotally connected to armsatand the upper end of hydraulic cylinderis pivotally connected to armsat.

A-framehas an upstanding platewith a generally A-shaped supportextending forwardly therefrom. Plow bladeis connected to the forward end of the A-shaped support. If desired, plow bladecan be pivotally connected to A-shaped supportfor pivoting movement about vertical axis. The A-shape of supportfacilitates pivoting of plow bladeleft and right about axis.

Plateof lift framehas an upper upturned left earand an upper upturned right ear. Plateof A-framehas an upper downturned left socketand an upper downturned right socket. Ears,are removably received in sockets,. Platehas lower left and right slide latches. Platehas lower left and right apertures. Latchesare slid downwardly into aperturesto secure A-frameto lift frame.

The geometry of pins,and slots,guides the lift frameand hence the plow bladein a non-rotational curvilinear path as the hydraulic cylinderraises and lowers the lift frame. More particularly, the lower onesof the pins are rearward of the upper onesof the pins. The slots,are straight and non-parallel. The lower onesof the slots,are rearward of the upper onesof the slots,. The lower onesof the slots,each have an upper end and a lower end, with the lower end being rearward of the upper end. The upper onesof the slots,each have an upper end and a lower end, with the upper end being rearward of the lower end.

Referring to, this geometry yields kinematics resulting in the non-rotational curvilinear path taken by plow bladeas the hydraulic cylinderraises and lowers lift frameand hence plow blade. As can be seen when comparing(lowered position) to(raised position) and when comparing(lowered position) to(raised position), the lowermost forwardmost edge of plow blademoves vertically upward with essentially little to no horizontally rearward movement. On the other hand, the uppermost forwardmost edge of plow blademoves vertically upward as well as horizontally rearward. Since bladehas no pivot axis there is no rotational or pivoting motion of plow blade(pivoting motion being rotational motion of less than a complete revolution). If bladehad a pivot axis it would follow a circular path as hydraulic cylinderextends and retracts. However, that is not the case. Rather, the motion of bladeis non-rotational curvilinear as can be seen in. The geometry of the systemand resulting non-rotational curvilinear motion allows the bladeto be lifted higher than that which can be accomplished with typical current commercial offerings where the blades are pivotally connected to the frame of the stand-on skid steer vehicle at a pivot axis. The geometry of systemfacilitates stacking snow with the bladeand increases ground clearance of bladewhich facilitates transporting the vehiclefrom job site to job site.

Referring now to, and with like numbers indicating like elements as in the previous embodiments, there is illustrated an alternative embodiment of lift frame. In this embodiment, the slots,are not straight, but rather are curved, at least in part. The curved sections can have either a constant radius or a variable radius. As in the prior embodiment, the motion of bladein this embodiment is also non-rotational curvilinear as can be seen in. This embodiment offers a wider range of lift kinematics. In addition, the slots,are wider than in the previous embodiments, and the pins,have a larger diameter to fit the wider slots,. This configuration permits the plow bladeto be positioned in a lowered below horizontal position (), a lowered horizontal position (), and a raised position ().

Referring now to, there is illustrated an alternative embodiment of the lift/lower system. In the prior embodiments, the mount framewas attached to the vehicle frame, the lift framewas attached to the mount frame, the hydraulic cylinder was operable between the lift frameand the mount framefor raising and lowering the lift framerelative to the mount frame, the support frame or “A-frame”was attached to the lift frame, and the plow bladewas attached to the A-frame. The pins,were carried by the mount frameand the slots,were carried by the lift frame. In other words, the pins were fixed relative to the vehicle frame and the slots rode back and forth over the fixed pins. In theembodiment, the pins are carried by the lift frame and the slots are carried by the mount frame. In other words, the slots are fixed relative to the vehicle frame and the pins ride back and forth in the fixed slots. This will be described in more detail below.

More particularly, the systemhas a mount frameattached to the vehicle frame, a lift frameattached to the mount frame, a motion generating device, for example hydraulic cylinder, operable between the lift frameand the mount framefor raising and lowering the lift framerelative to the mount frame, a support frame or “A-frame”attached to the lift frame, and a plow bladeattached to the A-frame. The mount framecan be removably attached or permanently attached to the vehicle frame.

The lift framehas a left hand armand a right hand arm. Each arm,has an upper pinand a lower pinsecured thereto. The forward ends of arms,carry bolts and nutsto secure the arms,to holesin A-frame. The rearward ends of arms,are connected by a cross bar. A pair of linksare rigidly attached to cross bar. Upper end of hydraulic cylinderis pivotally connected to linksat.

The mount framehas an upstanding platewith a pair of left hand plates,and a pair of right hand plates,, both pairs extending rearwardly therefrom. Each plate of the left hand plate pairs,and right hand plate pairs,has an upper slotand a lower slot. Armof lift framefits between plates,and armof lift framefits between plates,. Pinsride in slotsand pinsride in slots.

Plateof mount framehas a pair of armsprojecting rearwardly therefrom. The lower end of hydraulic cylinderis pivotally connected between armsat.

Plow bladeis pivotally connected to A-framefor left and right pivoting movement about vertical axis. Bladecan be manually pivoted to a selected position and manually locked in place, or a hydraulic cylinder (not shown) can be mounted to bladeand A-framefor automated pivoting of blade.

As in the prior embodiments, the geometry of pins,and slots,guides the lift frameand hence the plow bladein a non-rotational curvilinear path as the hydraulic cylinderraises and lowers the lift frame. More particularly, the lower onesof the pins are rearward of the upper onesof the pins. The slots,are straight and non-parallel. The lower onesof the slots,are rearward of the upper onesof the slots,. The lower onesof the slots,each have an upper end and a lower end, with the lower end being rearward of the upper end. The upper onesof the slots,each have an upper end and a lower end, with the upper end being rearward of the lower end.

Referring to, this geometry yields kinematics resulting in the non-rotational curvilinear path taken by plow bladeas the hydraulic cylinderraises and lowers lift frameand hence plow blade. As can be seen when comparing(lowered position below horizontal) to(lowered position horizontal) to(raised position), and when comparing(lowered position horizontal) to(raised position), the lowermost forwardmost edge of plow blademoves vertically upward with slight horizontal forward movement. On the other hand, the uppermost forwardmost edge of plow blademoves vertically upward as well as horizontally rearward. Since bladehas no pivot axis there is no rotational or pivoting motion of plow blade(pivoting motion being rotational motion of less than a complete revolution). If bladehad a pivot axis it would follow a circular path as hydraulic cylinderextends and retracts. However, that is not the case. Rather, the motion of bladeis non-rotational curvilinear as can be seen in. The geometry of the systemand resulting non-rotational curvilinear motion allows the bladeto be lifted higher than that which can be accomplished with typical current commercial offerings where the blades are pivotally connected to the frame of the stand-on skid steer vehicle at a pivot axis. The geometry of systemfacilitates stacking snow with the bladeand increases ground clearance of bladewhich facilitates transporting the vehiclefrom job site to job site.

The lift/lower systems of the present invention provide a number of advantages. With no pivot axis and no associated pivot axis structure mounted under the vehicle, there is no damage due to impacts and no debris accumulation.

The lift/lower systems move the plow-to-vehicle connection from underneath the vehicle to the front of the vehicle, improving access for maintenance and service.

The lift/lower systems achieve a higher blade height with a shorter hydraulic cylinder than those used in typical current commercial offerings where the blades are pivotally connected to the frame of the stand-on skid steer vehicle, as well as using less space within the confines of the vehicle.

The lift/lower systems provide a compact configuration of mount frame, lift frame, A-frame, and plow blade.

Structures other than pins and hydraulic cylinders can be used in the practice of the present invention. For example, wheels, rollers, or bearings could be used in place of the pins. As another example, an electric cylinder or a cable winch could be used in place of the hydraulic cylinder. All such structures are deemed to be embraced by the claims.

Implements or tools other than snow plows (whether straight blade or V-blade) can be used in the practice of the present invention. For example, the lift/lower system could be used with most any mini skid steer attachment such as brooms, snow blowers/throwers, snow pushers (also known as box plows or containment plows), etc. All such tools are deemed to be embraced by the claims.

The invention is also not limited to use on mini skid steer vehicles. For example, the lift/lower system could be used on full size skid steer vehicles. For another example, the lift/lower system could be used to mount snow plows to trucks, for example pickup trucks.

An alternative orientation of the lift/lower system is rotating the system 90 degrees counterclockwise when viewed from the lift side. This places the bottom slots forward of the top slots. This orientation provides the same lift angle range of motion.

The various embodiments of the invention shown and described are merely for illustrative purposes only, as the drawings and the description are not intended to restrict or limit in any way the scope of the claims. Those skilled in the art will appreciate various changes, modifications, and improvements which can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details and representative apparatus and methods shown and described. Departures may therefore be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept. The invention resides in each individual feature described herein, alone, and in any and all combinations and subcombinations of any and all of those features. Accordingly, the scope of the invention shall be limited only by the following claims and their equivalents.