Abstract:
A frame for supporting an implement (e.g. a plow) on a vehicle is disclosed. The support frame extends longitudinally and generally comprises, at its rear end, a rear attachment mechanism for removably mounting the support frame to the underside of the vehicle, and at its front end, a front attachment assembly for supporting the implement. The frame comprises a rear section and a front section hingedly connected together such that the front section can pivot upwardly with respect to the rear section. The support frame also comprises a biasing assembly or mechanism, generally comprising a resilient member engaging the front and rear sections, such as to downwardly bias the front portion. By overcoming the downward bias of the biasing assembly, the front section can be further raised with respect to the ground surface, thereby providing greater clearance.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present patent application claims the benefits of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/601,086, entitled “Support Frame for an Implement” and filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Feb. 21, 2012; the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to frames and frame assemblies for supporting implements on vehicles and more particularly relates to frames and frame assemblies for supporting implements on small vehicles such as, but not limited to, all-terrain vehicles (“ATV” or “ATVs”) and utility-terrain vehicle (“UTV” or “UTVs”). 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    All-terrain vehicles (“ATV” or “ATVs”), utility-terrain vehicle (“UTV” or “UTVs”), and other similar vehicles, are often equipped with implements such as plows to allow the vehicles to displace snow, dirt, soil, gravel, etc. Such implements are typically removably mounted to the vehicles via appropriate supporting frames or supporting frame assemblies. 
         [0004]    Though several different configurations of supporting frames have been proposed and devised throughout the years, most supporting frames can be categorized either as front-mounted (i.e. mounted to the front of the vehicle) or as underside-mounted (i.e. mounted to the underside of the vehicle). 
         [0005]    A front-mounted supporting frame is generally configured to be mounted near or at the front end of the vehicle. Hence, due to its frontal position, the front-mounted supporting frame typically allows the implement to be easily raised when not in use. 
         [0006]    However, due to its frontal position, the front-mounted supporting frame is typically less effective at distributing the load that the implement transfers to the vehicle when in use. This is generally caused by the relatively large operating angle of the supporting frame with respect to the frame of the vehicle when the implement is in use. 
         [0007]    The underside-mounted supporting frame mitigates some of the shortcomings of front-mounted supporting frames, and more particularly the load distribution problem mentioned above. Indeed, as the underside-mounted frame is mounted underneath the vehicle, typically between the front and rear wheels, the supporting frame defines a smaller operating angle with respect to the frame of the vehicle, and the load generated by the implement is thereby more evenly transferred to the frame of the vehicle. 
         [0008]    However, despite the foregoing advantage, an underside-mounted supporting frame typically has less ground clearance than a front-mounted supporting frame since the frame cannot be raised as high as a front-mounted supporting frame. Indeed, in an underside-mounted supporting frame, the supporting frame ultimately abuts on the underside of the vehicle when it is raised by the winch. 
         [0009]    There is therefore a need for an improved underside-mounted supporting frame which mitigates at least some of the aforementioned shortcomings. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    At least some of the shortcomings of prior art support frames for implements are mitigated by a support frame which comprises a front section hingedly connected to a rear section and which is downwardly biased by a biasing assembly. 
         [0011]    Hence, a support frame for an implement, in accordance with the principles of the present invention, generally extends longitudinally and generally comprises, at its rear end, a rear attachment mechanism for removably mounting the rear end of the support frame to the underside of the vehicle, and at its front end, an implement attachment assembly for supporting the implement. 
         [0012]    The rear attachment mechanism typically allows the support frame to pivot with respect to the vehicle, thereby allowing the support frame to be raised and lowered as needed, typically by the winch of the vehicle. In typical though non-limitative embodiments of the support frame, the rear attachment mechanism is a latching mechanism that comprises one or more latches (e.g. two latches). 
         [0013]    The support frame also comprises a rear section and a front section hingedly connected thereto. The hinge connection between the front and rear sections is configured to allow the front section to be pivotable between an operative position wherein the front section is substantially not pivoted with respect to the rear section, and an inoperative position wherein the front section is pivoted upwardly with respect to the rear section. Hence, the hinge connection between the front and rear sections generally allows only upward pivotal movements of the front section with respect to the rear section. 
         [0014]    The support frame also comprises a biasing assembly or mechanism which downwardly biases the front section into the operative position. 
         [0015]    Still, in accordance with the principles of the present invention, the downward bias of the biasing assembly can be overcome, typically by the winch of the vehicle, such as to allow the front section to pivot upwardly with respect to the rear section (i.e. in the inoperative position) in order to provide more clearance between the implement and the ground surface. 
         [0016]    In typical though non-limitative embodiments of a support frame, the support frame is configured to support a plow. 
         [0017]    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. The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    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: 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  is a rear perspective view of a support frame in accordance with the principles of the present invention and equipped with a plow. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the support frame of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of the support frame of  FIG. 1 , without the plow. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a fragmentary side view of the support frame of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a fragmentary side perspective view of the support frame of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is another fragmentary side perspective view of the support frame of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a partial side view of the support frame of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is another partial side view of the support frame of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  is a partial bottom perspective view of the support frame of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0028]      FIGS. 10A to 10C  are sequential side views of the support frame of  FIG. 1 , mounted to an ATV, during the raising of the support frame. 
           [0029]      FIG. 11  is a front perspective view of another support frame in accordance with the principles of the present invention. 
           [0030]      FIG. 12  is a fragmentary side perspective view of the support frame of  FIG. 11 . 
           [0031]      FIG. 13  is another fragmentary side perspective view of the support frame of  FIG. 11 . 
           [0032]      FIG. 14  is a partial bottom perspective view of the support frame of  FIG. 11 . 
           [0033]      FIG. 15  is a fragmentary partial bottom perspective view of the support frame of  FIG. 11 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0034]    A novel support frame for an implement 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. 
         [0035]    Referring first to  FIGS. 10A to 10C , an embodiment of a support frame  20 , in accordance with the principles of the present invention, is depicted mounted to a vehicle  10 . In  FIGS. 10A to 10C , the vehicle  10  is an ATV. However, the vehicle  10  could be a UTV or any other similar small vehicles. 
         [0036]    In the present embodiment, the support frame  20  is pivotally mounted to a mounting rod  16  located on the underside  14  of the frame  12  of the vehicle  10 . The mounting rod  16  can be either mounted to the underside  14  of the frame  12  or integral therewith. As it will be best understood below, this pivotal connection between the support frame  20  and the frame  12  allows the implement mounted to the support frame  20  to be lowered toward the ground in a working position (see  FIG. 10A ), and raised from the ground in an non-working position (see  FIGS. 10B and 10C ). In other embodiments, the support frame  20  could be mounted to the underside  14  of the vehicle  10  via different attachment mechanisms. However, these other attachment mechanisms must still allow the support frame  20  to pivot with respect to the frame  12  of the vehicle  10 . 
         [0037]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , the present embodiment of the support frame  20  is shown in greater details. 
         [0038]    The support frame  20  generally has a front end  22  and a rear end  24 . The front end  22  is configured to support an implement. In the present embodiment, the implement is a plow  26  of typical configuration. In that sense, it is to be understood that the support frame  20  would typically be used to support a plow  26 . However, the support frame  20  is not limited to supporting a plow  26  and could therefore support other types of implements. 
         [0039]    To properly secure the plow  26  to the front end  22 , the support frame  20  generally comprises an attachment plate  28  which is pivotally mounted to the support frame  20 , near or at the front end  22 . This attachment plate  28  comprises a base portion  30 , two lateral wing-shaped portions  32  and  34  extending laterally and upwardly from the base portion  30 , and a frontal portion  36  located at the forward extremity of the base portion  30  and of the lateral portions  32  and  34 . 
         [0040]    As best shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the plow  26  is pivotally mounted to the frontal portion  36  such as to be pivotable along a substantially horizontal axis  37  (see  FIG. 2 ). However, the frontal portion  36  comprises side stoppers  38  and  40  on which the two back ribs  42  and  44  of the plow  26  can respectively abut to limit the rearward pivotal movements of the plow  26 . To limit the forward pivotal movements of the plow  26 , a pair of springs  46  and  48  are respectively mounted between the back ribs  42  and  44  and the lateral portions  32  and  34 . The springs  46  and  48  generally allow the plow  26  to temporarily pivot forwardly when the plow  26  encounters an obstacle. 
         [0041]    The attachment plate  28  is pivotally mounted to the support frame  20  such as to be pivotable along a substantially vertical axis  29  (see  FIG. 1 ). The pivotal movements of the attachment plate  28  allow the angle of the plow  26  to be adjusted with respect to the general longitudinal direction of the support frame  20 . In the present embodiment, the angle of the plow  26  can be adjusted via the interaction of an actuatable spring-loaded locking lever  50  and a series of angularly disposed notches  52  formed at the rear extremity of the attachment plate  28  (see  FIG. 1 ). 
         [0042]    To adjust the angle of the plow  26 , the lever  50  is removed from its current notch  52 , the attachment plate  28  is pivoted until the desired angular notch  52  is aligned with the lever  50 , and then the lever  50  is inserted into the new notch  52  to lock the attachment plate  28 , and thus the plow  26 , in its new angular position. 
         [0043]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1 to 6 , the rear end  24  of the support frame  20  comprises a rear attachment mechanism  54  which is configured to pivotally engage the mounting rod (or rods)  16  located underneath the vehicle  10  (see  FIGS. 10A to 10C ). 
         [0044]    In the present embodiment, the rear attachment mechanism  54  is a latching mechanism and comprises two latches  56  and  58  mounted on each side of the support frame  20  near or at the rear end  24 . Latch  56  comprises a fixed side plate  60  and a hook-shaped member  62  pivotally mounted thereto. The member  62  is biased into a locked position, i.e. the position shown in the figures, by a biasing member such as a spring (not shown). Similarly, latch  58  comprises a fixed side plate  64  and a hook-shaped member  66  pivotally mounted thereto. The member  66  is also biased into a locked position, i.e. the position shown in the figures, by a biasing member such as a spring (not shown). 
         [0045]    Understandably, as the latches  56  and  58  are pushed against the mounting rod  16  during the installation of the support frame  20  on the vehicle  10 , the mounting rod  16  will force the members  62  and  66  open. The biasing members will then force the members  62  and  66  in their locked position when the mounting rod  16  is fully inserted into the latches  56  and  58  (see  FIGS. 10A to 10C ). 
         [0046]    The members  62  and  66  can also be pivoted in an unlocked position by an unlocking actuating device  68  (e.g. a pedal that can be depressed by the user) operatively connected to the members  62  and  66  via a linkage assembly  70  and a laterally extending rod  72  fixedly connected to the members  62  and  66 . 
         [0047]    As indicated above, the pivotal connection between the latches  56  and  58  and the mounting rod  16  allows the support frame  20  to be lowered and raised. This is typically done with the assistance of a winch  18  (and its cable  19 ) mounted at the front of the vehicle  10  (see  FIGS. 10A to 10C ). 
         [0048]    In other embodiments, the rear attachment mechanism could be different. Still, the rear attachment mechanism needs to allow the support frame  20  to pivot with respect to the frame  12  of the vehicle  10  in order for the support frame  20  to be lowered and raised. 
         [0049]    In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the support frame  20  comprises a rear portion  74  and a front portion  76  pivotally mounted thereto. As it will be best understood below with reference to  FIGS. 10A to 10C , the front portion  76  can pivot upwardly with respect to the rear portion  74  in order to provide greater ground clearance when the plow  26  is not in use. 
         [0050]    In the present embodiment, the rear portion  74  and the front portion  76  are pivotally connected by a pair of hinges  78  and  80  which define a substantially horizontal rotation axis  79  (see  FIG. 3 ). In other embodiments, the rear portion  74  and the front portion  76  could be pivotally connected by only one hinge or by more than two hinges. 
         [0051]    Referring now to  FIGS. 7 to 9 , from an operative position of the front portion  76  (see  FIG. 7 ), the hinges  78  and  80  are configured to allow only upward pivotal movements of the front portion  76  with respect to the rear portion  74 , i.e. to an inoperative position (see  FIG. 8 ). In that sense, the rotation axis  79  of the hinges  78  and  80  is located in the upper portion of the hinges  78  and  80  (see  FIGS. 7 and 8 ). 
         [0052]    The hinge  78  comprises complementary hinge members  82  and  84  which are respectively secured to the rear portion  74  and to the front portion  76 . In the present embodiment, the hinge member  84  is configured to abut on the rear portion  74  when the hinge  78  is closed and thus when the front portion  76  is in its operative position (see  FIG. 7 ). Hence, hinge member  84  prevents the front portion  76  from pivoting downwardly with respect to the rear portion  74 . Hinge  80  similarly comprises complementary hinge members  86  and  88  which are respectively secured to the rear portion  74  and to the front portion  76 . Hinge  80  functions as hinge  78 . 
         [0053]    Referring back to  FIGS. 3 to 6 , to prevent the front portion  76  from freely pivoting upwardly with respect to the rear portion  74 , the support frame  20  comprises a biasing assembly  90  which normally biases the front portion  76  in its operative position, i.e. with the hinges  78  and  80  in closed position. 
         [0054]    In the present embodiment, the biasing assembly  90  is mounted to the rear portion  74  and generally comprises a leaf spring  92  (i.e. a resilient member) which longitudinally extends between a rear supporting member or plate  94 , mounted to the rear portion  74 , and a front supporting member or plate  96 , mounted to the front portion  76 . Still, in the present embodiment, the extremities  91  and  93  of the leaf spring  92  are not secured to the rear supporting plate  94  and to the front supporting plate  96 . In fact, the extremities  91  and  93  of the leaf spring  92  respectively rest on the supporting plates  94  and  96  such that they are substantially free to slide on the supporting plates  94  and  96  when the front portion  76  is upwardly pivoted with respect to the rear portion  74 . 
         [0055]    In the present embodiment, the leaf spring  92  is further pivotally mounted to a pair of supporting brackets  98  and  100  via a rod or shaft  102  which is pivotally mounted to the brackets  98  and  100 . As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , in the present embodiment, the leaf spring  92  is secured to the shaft  102  with a fastener (e.g. a bolt and a nut). In other embodiments, the leaf spring  92  could be secured to the shaft  102  using other method such as, but not limited to, welding. 
         [0056]    The brackets  98  and  100  are further secured (e.g. fastened, bolted, welded, etc.) to a middle or intermediate supporting member or plate  104  which is itself secured to the rear portion  74  of the support frame  20 . As shown in  FIGS. 4 to 6 , the middle supporting plate  104  is longitudinally located between the rear supporting plate  94  and the front supporting plate  96 . 
         [0057]    Understandably, in the present embodiment, the load supported by the leaf spring  92  when the front portion  76  is pivoted upwardly with respect to the rear portion  74  is at least partially transferred to the supporting brackets  98  and  100 , to the middle supporting plate  104 , and thus, to the rear portion  74 . 
         [0058]    As best illustrated in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , in the present embodiment, the brackets  98  and  100  also support, in their upper portion, a stopping member or plate (or stopper)  106  which is configured to abut on the underside  14  of the vehicle  10  when the support frame  20  is raised by the winch  18  (see also  FIGS. 10B and 10C ). Still, in other embodiments, the stopping plate  106  could be mounted elsewhere on the rear portion  74 . 
         [0059]    In other embodiments, the leaf spring  92  could be differently mounted to the rear portion  74 . For instance, in  FIGS. 11 to 15 , the leaf spring  92  is pivotally mounted to a rod  110 , fixedly mounted to the rear portion  74 , via a mounting assembly  112 . The mounting assembly  112  comprises a top plate  114  and a bottom U-shaped bracket  116  fastened to each other (e.g. with bolts  118  and nuts  120 ). 
         [0060]    Understandably, the biasing assembly  90  can have many different configurations. 
         [0061]    Referring now to  FIGS. 10A to 10C , the operation of the support frame  20  will be described in details. 
         [0062]    As first shown in  FIG. 10A , in use, the support frame  20 , in its operative position, is pivotally mounted to the frame  12  of the vehicle  10 , and more particularly to the mounting rod  16  located underneath the vehicle  10 , and the support frame  20  is lowered with the winch  18  such that the plow  26  engages the ground. 
         [0063]    When the plow  26  is no longer needed, the support frame  20  is raised with the winch  18  in order to raise the plow  26  from the ground. 
         [0064]    As the support frame  20  is raised, the stopping plate  106  ultimately ends up contacting the underside  14  of the vehicle  10  as best shown in  FIG. 10B . Understandably, when the stopping plate  106  contacts the underside of the vehicle  10 , the rear portion  74  of the support frame  20  cannot be raised any more. 
         [0065]    However, as best shown in  FIG. 10C  and in accordance with the principles of the present invention, since the front portion  76  of the support frame  20  is pivotally mounted to the rear portion  74 , the front portion  76  can be further raised as the winch  18  overcomes the downward bias of the biasing assembly  90 . Hence, as the winch  18  does overcome the downward bias of the biasing assembly  90 , the front portion  76  pivots upwardly with respect to the rear portion  74  which is blocked by the underside  14  of the vehicle  10 . This additional upward pivotal movement of the front portion  76  raises the plow  26  further upward, thereby increasing the ground clearance of the plow  26  with respect to the ground (see  FIG. 10C ). 
         [0066]    Understandably, as the plow  26  is needed again, the winch  18  will lower the support frame  20  first from its inoperative position (see  FIG. 10C ) to its operative position (see  FIG. 10B ), during which the downward bias of the biasing assembly  90  will close the hinges  78  and  80 , and then toward the ground (see  FIG. 10A ). 
         [0067]    By having a second pivoting point located between the rear end  24  and the front end  22 , and by allowing the front portion  76  to pivot upwardly with respect to the rear portion  74 , the support frame  20  in accordance with the principles of the present invention generally mitigates the problem of ground clearance of underside-mounted implement supporting frames. 
         [0068]    Still, it will be understood that the location of the second pivoting point along the support frame  20  will be chosen such to take into account the configuration of the vehicle  10  and more particularly the position underneath the vehicle  10  where the rear end  24  of the support frame  20  will be mounted with respect to the front extremity of the vehicle  10 . 
         [0069]    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.