Plowing System, Vehicle Provided with Such System, Kit for Assembling the Same, and Corresponding Methods of Manufacturing, Assembling and Operating Associated Thereto

The present invention relates to the field of plowing systems, vehicles and/or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a plowing system for use with a vehicle, such as a truck for example, and also relates to a vehicle provided with such a system, as well as to a kit with corresponding components for assembling the same (whether it be the plowing system itself and/or a resulting plowing vehicle), and to corresponding methods of manufacturing, assembling and/or operating associated thereto.

Plowing systems, vehicles, and the like, such as associated plowing accessories and devices (ex. plowing wings, moldboards, etc.), are well known in the art.

For example, known to the Applicant are the following examples of possible plowing systems:

Despite these improvements over the years, there is always a need to continue innovating and finding better and/or different ways of plowing material, such as snow off the roads, for example, and to be able do so, in a quicker, easier, simpler, faster, more efficient, more convenient, more cost effective, more reliable, more secure, more versatile, more sustainable and/or more desirable manner.

Indeed, also known in the art are the various drawbacks and inconveniences associated with conventional plowing systems and associated vehicles. For example, and typically, the plowing component/wing is only activated by a single actuator (ex. a cylinder) having a distal end pivotably mounted to a rear end of the plowing component/wing and a proximate end pivotably mounted onto a fixed point/structure of the vehicle, and as result, a maximal angular range of the plowing component/wing is thus necessary delimited, and hence considerably “limited”, by a corresponding deployable effective length of said a single actuator. This in turn results in additional drawbacks and inconveniences in that a single cylinder can only withstand a certain maximal threshold of plowing load/span, otherwise, it may be greatly damaged (ex. fluid leaks, etc.) and/or fail altogether, which is very undesirable for obvious reasons. One way of compensating could be to use a much longer and bigger cylinder, but this too in turn results in additional drawbacks and inconveniences (ex. added costs, added weight, uneven and undesirable lobsided weight distribution for the vehicle due to bending moment(s), etc.). Other considerable drawbacks and inconveniences associated with such conventional plowing systems and associated vehicles are that, in some cases, the plowing system itself is a very long, elaborate and heavy system, which is very undesirable for obvious reasons, in that, typically, it takes on the form of a separate and/or wheeled vehicle/device that needs to be “hauled” by another separate and main driving vehicle, and as a result, typically requires the use of specialized drivers, with special driving permits, etc., which prevents such plowing systems to be readily available and/or useable by many people. Furthermore, such long, elaborate and elongated systems, are also not optimal because the plowing action takes place very “remotely” from where the driver is placed and/or can see, thereby preventing the driver from following the side of the road adequately and operating the plowing component/wing in an “optimal” manner (ex. as close as to a given side edge as would be normally intended and/or required, etc.). Such long, elaborate and elongated systems, are also less desirable because they tend to be more “complicated” and “costly” to operated (greater fuel consumption, etc.) due to the long and considerable weight that needs to be hauled by the main/driving vehicle, which is also disadvantageous from an environmental point of view, etc.

Therefore, it would be particularly useful to be able to provide an improved plowing system which would be able to overcome or at the very least minimize some of known drawbacks associated with the conventional ways and devices used for plowing snow for example.

An object of the present invention is to provide a plowing system which, by virtue of its design and components, would be an improvement over other related conventional systems, devices and/or methods known in the prior art.

In accordance with the present invention, the above object is achieved, as will be easily understood from the present description, with a plowing system (also referred to herein simply as “product” and/or “system”) such as the one briefly described herein and such as the one exemplified in the accompanying drawing(s). Furthermore, and in the context of the present description, the present plowing system may be referred to also as a “Wide Wing System” (“WWS”), which is one possible trademark name contemplated and/or owned by the Applicant/Assignee of the present application.

More particularly, according to one aspect of the present invention, an object is to provide a plowing system for removably mounting onto a vehicle in order to provide said vehicle with lateral plowing capability along a given lateral range of the vehicle, the plowing system comprising:

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a vehicle provided with the above-mentioned plowing system.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a method of manufacturing components of the above-mentioned plowing system and/or resulting vehicle.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a method of assembling components of the above-mentioned plowing system and/or corresponding vehicle.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a method of using the above-mentioned plowing system, corresponding vehicle and/or component(s) thereof.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a kit with components for assembling the above-mentioned plowing system and/or corresponding vehicle.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a set of components for interchanging with components of the above-mentioned kit.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method of assembling components of the above-mentioned kit and/or set.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method of plowing a given road (ex. plowing snow off the road, etc.) with the above-mentioned plowing system, corresponding vehicle, component(s) thereof, kit, set and/or method(s).

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method of doing business with the above-mentioned plowing system, corresponding vehicle, component(s) thereof, kit, set and/or method(s).

The objects, advantages, and other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of preferred embodiments thereof, given for the purpose of exemplification only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description, the same numerical references refer to similar elements. Furthermore, for sake of simplicity and clarity, namely so as to not unduly burden the figures with several reference numbers, only some figures have been provided with reference numbers, and components and features of the present invention illustrated in other figures can be easily inferred therefrom. The embodiments, geometrical configurations, materials mentioned and/or dimensions shown in the figures are preferred, for exemplification purposes only.

Moreover, although the present invention was primarily designed for plowing purposes, in the context of using vehicles for plowing snow off roads, for example, and/or the like, it may be used with other objects and/or in other types of applications, as apparent to a person skilled in the art. For this reason, expressions such as “plowing”, “snow”, “vehicle”, “road”, etc., used herein should not be taken so as to limit the scope of the present invention and include all other kinds of objects and/or applications with which the present invention could be used and may be useful. For example, the present plowing system could also be used with and/or for various other types of vehicles (i.e. not necessarily being “wheeled” vehicles, per se, such as trucks and/or the like, but also, the present system could ultimately be used with “nonwheeled” vehicles, such as trains and/or the like, etc.), as can be easily understood by a person skilled in the art. Indeed, instead of using for “plowing” purposes, the present system could ultimately be used for “clearing” and/or “cutting” undesirable vegetation (ex. grass, bushes, etc.) growing on left and/or rights side(s) of a given train track, for example, as can also be easily understood by a person skilled in the art.

Moreover, in the context of the present invention, the expressions “plowing system”, “system”, “product”, “device”, “assembly”, “apparatus”, “unit”, “equipment”, “method” and “kit”, as well as any other equivalent expression(s) and/or compound word(s) thereof known in the art will be used interchangeably, as apparent to a person skilled in the art. This applies also for any other mutually equivalent expressions, such as, for example: a) “plowing”, “pushing”, “deviating”, “urging”, “clearing”, “moving”, “removing”, “scraping”, etc.; b) “plowing material”, “undesirable material”, “unwanted material”, “snow”, “ice”, “debris”, “sand”, “leaves”, “rocks”, “pebbles”, “obstacle(s)”, etc.; c) “link”, “arm”, “member”, “actuator”, “rod”, “cylinder”, “piston”, etc. (whether of “fixed” length and/or “variable” length); d) “moving”, “displacing”, “pulling”, “pushing”, “translating”, “rotating”, “pivoting”, etc. (in that the present plowing system, associated actuating assemblies and other corresponding components thereof, can move in various suitable ways other than the ones described and/or exemplified in the present patent specification); e) “effect”, “interaction”, “cooperation”, “disposition”, “collaboration”, etc.; f) “operatively”, “effectively”, “equivalently”, “practically”, “directly”, “mechanically”, “indirectly”, “interconnectedly”, “remotely”, etc.; g) “connected”, “mounted”, “affixed”, “attached”, “inserted”, “fastened”, “bolted”, “riveted”, “welded”, “casted”, etc.; h) “extended”, “extendable”, “disposed”, “laid out”, “ranging”, “spanning”, “connecting”, “interconnecting”, etc.; i) “hole”, “orifice”, “through-hole”, “bore”, “cavity”, “recess”, “notch”, “groove”, “slot”, “indent”, etc.; j) “axis”, “pivot”, “hinge”, etc.; k) “blocking”, “locking”, “securing”, “closing” “retaining”, “stopping”, etc. (as well as associated qualifiers, such as “blocked”, “locked”, “secured”, “closed” and/or associated antonyms); as well as for any other mutually equivalent expressions, pertaining to the aforementioned expressions and/or to any other structural and/or functional aspects of the present invention, as also apparent to a person skilled in the art. Also, in the context of the present description, expressions such as “can”, “may”, “might”, “will”, “could”, “should”, “would”, etc., may also be used interchangeably, whenever appropriate, as also apparent to a person skilled in the art.

Furthermore, in the context of the present description, it will be considered that all elongated objects will have an implicit “longitudinal axis” or “centerline”, such as the longitudinal axis of shaft for example, or the centerline of a coiled spring, for example, and that expressions such as “connected” and “connectable”, or “mounted” and “mountable”, may be interchangeable, in that the present invention also relates to a kit with corresponding components for assembling a resulting fully-assembled and fully-operational plowing system.

Moreover, components of the present system(s) and/or steps of the method(s) described herein could be modified, simplified, altered, omitted and/or interchanged, without departing from the scope of the present invention, depending on the particular application(s) which the present invention is intended for, and the desired end result(s), as briefly exemplified herein and as also apparent to a person skilled in the art.

In addition, although the preferred embodiments of the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprise various components, and although the preferred embodiments of the present plowing system and corresponding portion(s)/part(s)/component(s) as shown consist of certain geometrical configurations, as explained and illustrated herein, not all of these components and geometries are essential to the invention and thus should not be taken in their restrictive sense, i.e. should not be taken so as to limit the scope of the present invention. It is to be understood, as also apparent to a person skilled in the art, that other suitable components and cooperation there in between, as well as other suitable geometrical configurations may be used for the present plowing system and corresponding portion(s)/part(s)/component(s) according to the present invention, as will be briefly explained herein and as can be easily inferred here from by a person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Broadly described, and as better exemplified in the accompanying drawings, the present invention relates to a plowing system () designed to be easily, conveniently and securely mounted onto a corresponding conventional vehicle, such as a truck, for example, for converting said vehicle into a corresponding “plowing” vehicle (), while providing the plowing assembly () of the present system () and associated vehicle () with an increased plowing resistivity (ex. increased resistance to force loads, higher load-bearing tolerance, increased plowing capability/capacity, increased plowing/deployment force/action, and/or etc.) and/or with an increased plowing flexibility (ex. wider and longer plowing angular ranges, capability of using moldboards of much longer lengths, increased range(s) of motion and degree(s) of freedom, and/or etc.), within lateral side(s) of the vehicle (), thanks to the innovative nature of the different components and features of the plowing system (), as detailed hereinbelow, and as exemplified in the accompanying drawings.

Indeed, the present plowing system () may come in the form of a plowing system () including one and/or several of the following possible components and features (and/or different possible combination(s) and/or permutation(s) thereof):

i.) A plowing system () for removably mounting onto a vehicle () in order to provide said vehicle () with lateral plowing capability along a given lateral range () of the vehicle (), the plowing system () comprising:

ii.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the first base component () of the first actuating assembly () is relatively moveable with respect to the second base component () of the second actuating assembly ().

iii.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein at least one base component () of said first and second base components (,) is positioned, shaped and shaped to move along a corresponding path () of the plowing system ().

iv.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein said at least one base component () is configured to angularly move along the corresponding path () of the plowing system ().

v.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein said at least one base component () is configured to slidably move along the corresponding path () of the plowing system ().

vi.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the corresponding path () of the plowing system () includes an arched path ().

vii.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the corresponding path () of the plowing system () includes a rectilinear path ().

viii.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the first base component () of the plowing system () is positioned, shaped and shaped to slidably move along a corresponding path () extending along a rearward portion of the plowing component ().

ix.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the second base component () of the plowing system () is positioned, shaped and shaped to slidably move along a corresponding path () extending along the mounting assembly ().

x.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the first actuating assembly () includes an actuating assembly () of fixed length.

xi.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the first actuating assembly () includes an actuating assembly () of variable length.

xii.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the second actuating assembly () includes an actuating assembly () of fixed length.

xiii.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the second actuating assembly () includes an actuating assembly () of variable length.

xiv.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the first and second actuating assemblies (,) include respectively at least one actuating assembly () of variable length and at least one actuating assembly () of fixed length.

xv.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the first and second actuating assemblies (,) include respectively at least one actuating assembly () of fixed length and at least one actuating assembly () of variable length.

xvi.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the first and second actuating assemblies (,) include respectively at least one actuating assembly () of fixed length and at least one actuating assembly () of fixed length.

xvii.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the first and second actuating assemblies (,) include respectively at least one actuating assembly () of variable length and at least one actuating assembly () of variable length.

xviii.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the first and second actuating assemblies (,) are respectively first and second actuating assemblies (,) of fixed length.

xix.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the first and second actuating assemblies (,) are respectively first and second actuating assemblies (,) of variable length.

xx.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the first and second actuating assemblies (,) include a combination of actuating assemblies (,) of both fixed and variable lengths.

xxi.) A plowing system () according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the plowing system () comprises a track assembly () operatively extendable about the mounting assembly (), for removably and operatively mounting said track assembly () onto a given side (,) of the vehicle (), and for defining a corresponding track path () of the plowing system ().