Abstract:
A fully adjustable system is provided for reducing overheating of engines caused by the blockage of air flow by snow plow blades. One embodiment mountable onto blades of a split V-plow includes two elongated deflectors, two T-shaped mounting brackets, and a U-shaped slide bracket. When the system is assembled, the base plates are slidable in a direction parallel to the blade before the fasteners are tightened, the deflectors are slidable relative to the slide bracket in a direction parallel to the blade before the fasteners are tightened, the deflectors are slidable in a direction perpendicular to the blade before the fasteners are tightened, and the deflectors are angularly rotatable relative to a top lip of the blade.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
     The present application is related to commonly-owned and co-pending U.S. application Ser. Nos. 29/557,550 and 29/557,552, both entitled FULLY ADJUSTABLE AIR DEFLECTOR SYSTEM FOR V-BLADE SNOW PLOW, and both filed on the filing date hereof, which applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The present application is also related to commonly-owned U.S. application Ser. No. 12/288,973, now abandoned, entitled AIR DEFLECTOR FOR V-BLADE SNOW PLOW, filed on Oct. 24, 2008, which application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to snow plows and, in particular, to a fully adjustable system for reducing overheating of engines caused by the blockage of air flow by snow plow blades. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Snow plows on plow vehicles such as pickup trucks, dump trucks and the cause the plow vehicle to suffer a cooling problem. The issue is not the weight nor the drag of the plow but rather the airflow disruption engendered by the snow plow. 
     To illustrate this problem,  FIG. 1  shows a side view of a plow vehicle  10  with a plow  12  and ancillary mounting equipment  14 . However, it is apparent from viewing this side view that air flow is massively disrupted from its normal straight flow. As the vehicle  10  moves under normal circumstances, it is designed to generate a largely unimpeded airflow to radiator  16 . With a curved blade  12  in front of the radiator  16 , however, the air flow is disrupted and is scooped up by the upper edge and body of the blade  12 , generating a high pressure area CH in front of the blade  12  in the exact same manner in which the snow on the ground is scooped up by the lower edge and body. Plow blades may be commonly seen with a vortex of snow swirling around in the front of the blade, which eventually exits via one side (one end) of the horizontal blade. What is not visible to the naked eye is the fact that the air flow follows the same path, being entrained by the blade and snow in the high pressure area CH and carried around the end of the plow blade  12 . 
     A limited amount of air passes over the plow blade  12  as shown by arrow CA&#39;. This air from above the plow is pulled by a low pressure area ‘L’ behind the blade downward, thus resulting in a very small flow past radiator  16 . However, this small flow exists in the partial vacuum ‘L’ generated by the blade  12 . Since the vehicle radiator  16  is not designed for use in a partial vacuum, the real world result is that the vehicle engine begins to overheat in the midst of snow, forcing the operator to periodically stop and cool the engine or causing a significant loss of power. 
     This is not a theoretical issue. The overheating problem caused by the plow acting like a scoop to move air away from radiators has been long noted by plow operators and the reason for this understood. The problem, therefore, is of considerable vintage. 
     A search in the United States Patent Office Collection reveals previous attempts to solve this problem. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,544,434 to Calvachio, Jr. and 4,587,750 to Larson teach airfoils or scoops which attempt to solve this problem. Testing these types of units reveals immediate flaws. In particular, the mountings of these devices are wildly inadequate to the battering received by snow plows. Real world snow plow blades are driven across rugged uneven surfaces and they may frequently encounter small but immovable obstacles which are completely hidden by the snow. An object as insignificant as a pebble embedded in a tarmac road surface can actually bring a plow vehicle to a halt, and more typical hidden obstacles include concrete gutters, sidewalks, curbs and the like. Most plows do not come to halt under such conditions, though, because the plow blades are normally hinged so that they can rotate when encountering a small object, with strong springs urging the plow blade back to normal position after the object is passed. 
     The battering, vibration and shaking the plow blade undergoes makes a mockery of the light mountings taught by the 1 434 and 750 references. As mentioned, testing showed that light mountings made to the rib  102  very quickly shake themselves free from the blade and vanish into the snow in front of the plow or under the wheels of the vehicle. 
     These mountings have other problems besides lack of durability. They do not allow easy height adjustments of the device for differing combinations of plows and vehicles. This is important to effectiveness: if an airfoil cannot be adjusted in height to gather the required amount of air and redirect it towards the radiator, then the device does not prevent the overheating / power loss problems seen by operators. A single height setting cannot provide this as plow vehicles come in a wide range of heights and radiators are variously disposed at various heights as well. Plows also come in a variety of heights and a variety of lengths of separation from the front of the vehicle. Finally the shapes of the plows results in differing degrees of vortex formation, and if an airfoil is not located at a location which receives a strong airflow, that is, if the air foil is located in the low pressure zone even though it is atop the blade, then the air foil in the low pressure zone cannot function in any event. The combinations of plows and vehicles means that the air foil must be adjustable not just in angle but also in height. 
     In addition, these devices do not easily fit to plows lacking such an upper rib, having an upper rib inappropriate for the mounting, or split V-blade plows. 
     These references teach two simple air foil shapes: a true air foil and a flat scoop. Thus, these devices are not found widely distributed among plow operators. In addition to the ‘434 patent to Calvachio, Jr. and the 750 to Larson, trunking or duct works have been tried to solve this problem. Examples of this include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,881,479 to Pavey and 4,896,915 to Morandi et al. These patents do not disclose airfoils which ride above the plow blade but rather scoops which redirect a certain amount of the incoming air more closely toward the radiator. It is difficult to see how such trunking devices could possibly be made adjustable in height, particularly as imagination is required to guess the details of the mountings of these two devices. Some of these devices are too far forward to properly direct air to the vehicle radiator area. Others, such as the ‘915 device, have weak mounts, become clogged with snow, and reduce the effective turning radius of the plow vehicle by impinging into the area between the plow and the vehicle when the come close together during turns. 
     Finally, there are numerous deflectors which are designed to deflect snow which spills over the top of the plow blade and direct it downward actually away from the plow vehicle. (Abstract, U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,653 to Pease et al. and Col. 1, line 21, U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,947 to Peitl). Since these devices have a different function and result it seems safe to dismiss them and their kin as irrelevant to devices which try to direct air *toward* the plow vehicle: reference prior art cannot violate its own fundamental operation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the present invention provides a fully adjustable air deflector system mountable on a split V-blade snow plow. The system comprises first and second air deflectors, first and second T-shaped mounting brackets, and a U-shaped slide bracket. 
     The air deflectors both comprise: an elongated middle section; a leading edge curved upwards approximately 90° relative to the middle section; a trailing edge curved downwards approximately 90° relative to the middle section; and a plurality of attachment slots formed through the middle section substantially perpendicular to the leading and trailing edges. 
     The first and second T-shaped mounting brackets both comprise: an elongated flat base plate having at least one mounting slot formed therethrough; and an upright plate having a bore hole formed therethrough and secured at a lower edge to the base plate approximately 90° relative to the base plate. 
     The U-shaped slide bracket comprises: an elongated middle section having at least two mounting slots formed therethrough parallel to a length of the slide bracket; and first and second end pieces at each end of the middle section, both end pieces angled approximately 90° downward relative to the middle section and having a bore hole formed therethrough. 
     Both base plates are adjustably mountable to one of two blades of a V-blade snow plow with a fastener through the at least one mounting slot. Each end piece of the slide bracket is adjustably mountable to one of the upright plates with a fastener through the bore holes of the end pieces and upright plates. Each deflector is adjustably mountable to the slide bracket with fasteners through the attachment slots in the deflector and slide bracket. When assembled, the base plates are slidable in a direction parallel to the blade before the fasteners are tightened, the deflectors are slidable relative to the slide bracket in a direction parallel to the blade before the fasteners are tightened, the deflectors are slidable in a direction perpendicular to the blade before the fasteners are tightened, and the deflectors are angularly rotatable relative to a top lip of the blade. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a prior art side view of a snow plow blade mounted to the front of a vehicle; 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of an embodiment of an air deflector system of the present invention mounted on a snow plow blade mounted to the front of a vehicle; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of an embodiment of an air deflector system of the present invention mounted on a split-V snow plow blade (“V-blade); 
         FIG. 4  is a top front perspective view of the air deflector system of  FIG. 3  mounted on the V-blade; 
         FIG. 5  is a rear view of the air deflector system of  FIG. 3  mounted on the V-blade; 
         FIG. 6  is a rear perspective view of the bottom of the air deflector system of  FIG. 3  mounted on the V-blade; 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the air deflector system of  FIG. 3  mounted on the rear surface of the V-blade; 
         FIG. 8  is a side view of the air deflector system of  FIG. 3  mounted on the top lip of the V-blade; 
         FIG. 9  is an exploded view of the air deflector system of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a top view of the air deflector system of  FIG. 3  mounted on the V-blade; 
         FIG. 11  is a bottom view of the air deflector system of  FIG. 3  mounted on the V-blade; 
         FIG. 12  is a rear perspective view of the top of the air deflector system of  FIG. 3  mounted on the V-blade; 
         FIG. 13  is a front perspective view of another embodiment of the air deflector system of the present invention mounted on a straight snow plow blade; 
         FIG. 14  is a side view of the air deflector system of  FIG. 13  mounted on the rear surface of the straight-blade; 
         FIG. 15  is a side view of the air deflector system of  FIG. 13  mounted on the top lip of the straight-blade; 
         FIG. 16  is an exploded view of the air deflector system of  FIG. 13   
         FIG. 17  is a top front x-ray view of the air deflector system of  FIG. 13  mounted on the straight-blade; and 
         FIG. 18  is a rear perspective view of the bottom of the air deflector system of  FIG. 13  mounted on the straight-blade. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of an embodiment of an air deflector system  100  of the present invention mounted on the snow plow blade  12 , in turn mounted to the front of the vehicle  10 . Although a high pressure area CH is created in front of the blade  12 , the deflector system  100  forces air over and behind the blade  12 , as illustrated by the arrow ‘B,’ eliminating the low pressure area and allowing the air to flow freely past the radiator  16 . The deflector system  100  is equally effective when mounted on a straight blade or a split V-blade. 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  are front views of an embodiment of an air deflector system  200  of the present invention mounted on a V-blade.  FIGS. 5 and 6  are rear views of the system  200 . The system  200  includes two air deflectors  202 A,  202 B and associated hardware for mounting the deflectors to the two blade sections  20 A,  20 B. The two deflectors  202 A,  202 B are identical and will be referred to collectively as  202 . Similarly, the two blades  20 A,  20 B are identical and will be referred to collectively as  20 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the deflector  202  may be mounted either to the back surface  22  of the blade  20  ( FIG. 7 ) or to the top lip  24  of the blade  20  ( FIG. 8 ). The deflector  202  has an elongated flat middle section  204 , an upwardly curved leading section  206 , and a downwardly curved trailing section  208 . Two slots  210 A,  210 B (collectively  210 ) are formed through the middle section  204  perpendicular to the length of the deflector  200  approximately halfway between the leading and trailing edges  206 ,  208 . In one embodiment, the leading and trailing sections  206 ,  208  are curved approximately 90° relative to the middle section  204  with a radius of curvature of approximately 1 inch. The middle section  204  is about 5 inches wide between the leading and trailing sections  206 ,  208 . The slots  210  are approximately 2-½ inches long and approximately ½ inches wide and are spaced approximately 6-½ inches apart, equidistant from the longitudinal center of the deflector  200 . The total width of the deflector  200  is approximately 8-½ inches and the length is approximately 20 inches. It will be appreciated that other dimensions may be used when manufacturing deflectors  200  to accommodate blades  20  of different dimensions and configurations. 
       FIG. 9  is an exploded view of the air deflector system  200 . In addition to the deflector  202 , the system  200  includes a pair of angled T-shaped mounting brackets  220  and a U-shaped slide bracket  230 . The mounting bracket  220  includes an angled upright plate  222  with a bore hole  224  at its upper end for securing the slide bracket  230  to the mounting bracket  220 . The upright plate  222  is secured at a lower edge, such as by welding, at approximately 90° to the center of an elongated flat base plate  226 . The base plate  226  has a longitudinal mounting slot  228  on both sides of the angled upright plate  222  for securing the mounting bracket  220  to the plow blade  20 . The slide bracket  230  has an elongated middle section with two mounting slots  232  parallel to the length of the slide bracket  230  for securing the deflector  200  to the slide bracket  230 . The slide bracket  230  also has two 90° downwardly angled end pieces  234 , each with a bore hole  236 . 
     In one embodiment, the upright plate  222  has an angle of approximately 45° relative to the base plate  224  to allow the base plate  224  to be mounted to an angled surface of the plow blade  20  with the upright plate  222  rising approximately vertically relative to the ground. The upright plate  222  is approximately five inches long and 1-½ inches wide. The base plate is approximately four inches long and 1-½ inches wide; the slots  228  are approximately one inch long. The slide bracket  230  is approximately 14 inches long and approximately 1-½ inches wide with the ends  234  approximately 2 inches long turned 90° downward. The slots  232  are approximately 4 inches long, approximately ½ inches wide, and spaced equidistant from the center of the slide bracket  230 . For strength and durability, the mounting bracket  220  and the slide bracket  230  may be cut from 5/16″ steel plate or angle. 
     To assemble the air deflector system  200 , each deflector  202  is secured to the slide bracket  230  with such fasteners as bolts and nuts, which initially do not need to be tightened. The mounting brackets  220  are secured to the turned-down ends  234  of the slide bracket  230 , again with such fasteners as bolts and nuts, which also do not need to be tightened. The assembled system  200  may then be held on the back surface  22  or top lip  24  of the blade  20  with the curved upper leading section  206  of the deflector facing in the same direction as the blade  20 . The proper location may be determined such that the inner end of each deflector  202  is approximately even with the inner end of each blade  20 . Holes may then be drilled through the blade  20  and each mounting bracket  220  loosely secured to the blade  20 , with such fasteners as bolts and nuts. 
     The exact position of the two assemblies may now be finalized by moving the mounting brackets  220  parallel to the blade  20  along the slots  228  in the mounting bracket  220 . The deflector  202  may be adjusted in both the parallel and perpendicular directions relative to the blade  20  along the slots  232  in the slide bracket  230  and the slots  210  in the deflector  202 , respectively. The angle of the deflector  202  and slide bracket  230  relative to the ground may also be adjusted, such as to offset the angle of the blade surface to which the mounting bracket  220  is secured. Thus, the deflector system  200  may be installed on blades with a wide variation in surface angles. When the position and angle of each deflector  202  has been finalized, all of the fasteners may be tightened to lock the system  200  in place. It will also be appreciated that the mounting brackets  220  may be welded onto the back surface  22  or top lip  24  of the blade  20 .  FIG. 10  is a bottom view of the assembled but unmounted deflector system  200  and illustrates the slots  210 ,  228 ,  232  and fasteners which may be used to adjust the position and angle of the deflectors  202  relative to the blades  20 . 
       FIGS. 10-12  are rear bottom perspective, rear perspective, and top views, respectively, of the air deflector system  200  mounted on the two blades  20 A,  20 B of a split V-blade plow and particularly illustrate the adjustment options provided by the air deflection system  200  of the present invention. After adjusting the positions of the two deflectors  202 , their inner edges are substantially aligned with the inner edges of the blades  20  and their inner rear corners a close to, if not touching, each other. The angle of the deflectors  202  is preferably parallel with the ground as illustrated in FIG.  2  although, as noted above, it may be adjusted to provide the desired air flow across the vehicle&#39;s radiator. 
       FIG. 13  is a front view of another embodiment of an air deflector system  300  of the present invention mounted on a straight plow blade  30 . The system  300  includes an air deflector  302  and associated hardware for mounting the deflector to the blade  30 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 14 and 15 , the deflector  302  may be mounted either to the back surface  32  of the blade  30  ( FIG. 14 ) or to the top lip  34  of the blade  30  ( FIG. 15 ). The deflector  302  has an elongated flat middle section  304 , an upwardly curved leading section  306 , and a downwardly curved trailing section  308 . Two sets  310 A,  310 B (collectively  310 ) of two slots each are formed through the middle section  304  perpendicular to the length of the deflector  300 . In one embodiment, the leading and trailing sections  306 ,  308  are curved approximately 90° relative to the middle section  304  with a radius of curvature of approximately 1 inch. The middle section  304  is about 5 inches wide between the leading and trailing sections  306 ,  308 . The slots  310  are approximately 2-½ inches long and approximately ½ inches wide and are spaced approximately 5 inches apart, with the sets of slots being about 11 inches apart and equidistant from the longitudinal center of the deflector  300 . The total width of the deflector  300  is approximately 7 inches and the length is approximately 40 inches. It will be appreciated that other dimensions may be used when manufacturing deflectors  300  to accommodate blades  30  of different dimensions and configurations. 
       FIG. 16  is an exploded view of the air deflector system  300 . In addition to the deflector  30 , the system  300  includes a pair of angled T-shaped mounting brackets  320 A,  320 B (collectively referred to as  320 ) and a pair of elongated L-shaped slide brackets  330 A,  330 B (collectively  330 ). Each mounting bracket  320  includes an angled upright plate  322  with a bore hole  324  at its upper end for securing the respective slide bracket  330  to the mounting bracket  320 . The upright plate  322  is secured, such as by welding, at approximately 90° to the center of a flat base plate  326 . The base plate  326  has a longitudinal mounting slot  328  on both sides of the angled upright plate  322  for securing the mounting bracket  320  to the plow blade  30 . The slide bracket  330  has two mounting slots  332 A,  332 B (collectively  332 ) for securing the deflector  300  to the slide bracket  330 . 
     In one embodiment, the upright plate  322  has an angle of approximately 45° relative to the base plate  326  to allow the base plate  326  to be mounted to an angled surface of the plow blade  30  with the upright plate  322  rising approximately vertically relative to the ground. The upright plate  322  is approximately five inches long and 1-½ inches wide. The base plate  326  is approximately four inches long and 1-½ inches wide; the slots  328  are approximately one inch long. Each slide bracket  330  is approximately 13 inches long and approximately 1-½ inches wide with an outer end  334 A,  334 B (collectively  334 ) approximately 2 inches long turned 90° downward. Each outer end  334  has a bore hole  336 A,  336 B for securing to the upright plate  326 . The slots  332  are approximately 4 inches long, approximately ½ inches wide, and spaced equidistant from the center of the slide bracket  330 . 
     To assemble the air deflector system  300 , the deflector  302  is secured to the slide brackets  330  with such fasteners as bolts and nuts, which initially do not need to be tightened. The mounting brackets  320  are secured to the turned-down ends  334  of the slide brackets  330 , again with such fasteners as bolts and nuts, which also do not need to be tightened. The assembled system  300  may then be held on the back surface  32  or top lip  34  of the blade  30  with the curved upper leading section  306  of the deflector facing in the same direction as the blade  30 . The proper location may be determined such that the deflector  302  is approximately centered along the blade  30 . Holes may then be drilled through the blade  30  and both mounting brackets  320  loosely secured to the blade  30 , with such fasteners as bolts and nuts. 
     The exact position of the two assemblies may now be finalized by moving the mounting brackets  320  parallel to the blade  30  along the slots  328  in the mounting brackets  320 . The deflector  30  may be adjusted in both the parallel and perpendicular directions relative to the blade  30  along the slots  332  in the slide brackets  330  and the slots  310  in the deflector  302 , respectively. The angle of the deflector  302  and slide bracket  330  relative to the ground may also be adjusted, such as to offset the angle of the blade surface to which the mounting bracket  320  is secured. Thus, the deflector system  300  may be installed on blades with a wide variation in surface angles. When the position and angle of each deflector  302  has been finalized, all of the fasteners may be tightened to lock the system  300  in place. 
       FIGS. 17 and 18  are a top front and bottom rear perspective views of the assembled deflector system  300  mounted on the top lip  34  and back surface  32 , respectively, of a straight-blade  30  and particularly illustrate the adjustment options provided by the air deflection system  300  of the present invention. The angle of the deflector  302  is preferably parallel with the ground as illustrated in  FIG. 2  although, as noted above, it may be adjusted to provide the desired air flow across the vehicle&#39;s radiator. 
     The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.