Plow blade with water passageway

A plow blade having a fluid passageway and points of fluid ejection is produced with basic manufacturing processes allowing for efficient production. The blade construction has a multiple component assembly for providing the ability to rebuild a blade and replacing a portion of the blade that may be worn. In another aspect of the invention a process of ejecting a specific fluid at specific points along a plow blade the desirable characteristics are maximized, while the volume of ejected fluid is minimized. This method is adaptable in static plowing and vibratory plowing utilities since lubricating the sides of the blade/chute that come into contact with the ground with fluid has been found to greatly reduce the amount of drag (friction).

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many types of services are delivered to homes through conduits installed in relatively shallow underground trenches. These include telephone, television, natural gas, electricity, and drainage. These utilities are often installed with a plow.FIG. 1illustrates an example installation of a utility20with a prior art plowing process. A plow30is attached to a prime mover, typically a tractor10. The tractor10propels the plow through the ground. The plow10is relatively narrow and will split the ground open with a sharpened steel blade. The utility line20is introduced into the ground through a chute40that is attached to and directly behind the blade. The chute40holds the ground open as the utility line20is being fed into the desired vertical position and places the utility line20into a horizontal position at the desired depth under ground.

An alternate configuration is illustrated inFIG. 2where the utility line20is laid out on the ground behind its intended position and then the plow30is connected to one end. The plow is then pulled through the ground in order to pull the utility line20into the correct position. In this configuration there is no chute.

Depending on the desired depth, size of utility line, and the ground (soil) conditions (clay, sand, loam, etc.). This process may be slow and require a large amount of power from the tractor10to pull the blade/chute through the ground. To reduce this loading various efforts have been made to inject liquid to the plow and to the utility being installed to wet the ground.

In some past designs the liquid was water, ejected in the direction of travel of the plow blade, and at the edge of the plow blade, utilizing the water to assist in the cutting action required to slice the ground.

In other designs, useful for applications as illustrated inFIG. 2, the liquid has been water directed to the area around the utility line being pulled through the ground to lubricate and reduce the frictional drag.

In still other designs water has been directed through long holes36drilled into the blade34of the plow30. Additional cross-drilled holes threaded to accept cooperating nozzles38are drilled near front edge32, as illustrated inFIGS. 3 and 4. Water was then pumped into inlet fitting37to route water to the sides of the plow. This design has proven successful as the lubrication provided by the water significantly reduces the power necessary to pull the plow. However this requires complicated manufacturing processes, with the result that a wear item, the blade, becomes a relatively expensive component. There exists a need for a blade to provide this water distribution in a manner that is less expensive to initially manufacture and to maintain.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a novel design for a plow blade which provides a fluid passage and points of fluid ejection which is produced with basic manufacturing processes allowing efficient production.

Another aspect of the present invention is a blade construction including a multiple component assembly. This provides the ability to rebuild a blade, replacing a portion of the blade that may be worn.

In another aspect of the present invention a process of ejecting a specific fluid at specific points along a plow blade the desirable characteristics are maximized, while the volume of ejected fluid is minimized. This method is adaptable in static plowing and vibratory plowing utilities. Lubricating the sides of the blade/chute that come into contact with the ground with fluid has been found to greatly reduce the amount of drag (friction).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views. The included drawings reflect the current preferred and alternate embodiments. There are many additional embodiments that may utilize the present invention. The drawings are not meant to include all such possible embodiments.

FIG. 5illustrates a plow100constructed according to the principles of the present invention. Plow100consists of blade110, leading edge sections120, point130and a fluid tube140. Chute40is attached to the rear edge114of blade110, and is constructed to receive and guide utility line20from above the ground to the desired depth where it is oriented generally parallel to the ground surface. In other embodiments, the chute may be replaced by a puller adapted to hold a utility line that is being pulled through the ground, similar to the arrangement shown inFIG. 2.

The blade110further includes a front edge112, a top end116and a bottom end118. The top end116includes apertures117which will serve as attachment points, to adapt to a power unit. Many different types of power units can be used in conjunction with the preset invention.

The bottom end118is adapted to support a variety of points130. The type of point to be installed may be dependent upon the soil conditions of a particular job.

A component of the present invention is the manner in which the components are assembled to form flow paths for fluid to exit the blade at controlled locations and with a controlled flow rate. The flow paths of this first embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1are defined when the front edge120is attached to the blade110.FIG. 8illustrates a void124in surface122of leading edge section120. Fluid tube140is adapted to travel in void124to transfer pressurized fluid from the top of plow100into the void124, and may be sealed with weld152illustrated inFIG. 6. Other forms of sealing the connection between the tube140and the front edge sections120are possible, but are not illustrated herein as they are not a critical element of the present invention. Tube140has a top end144and a bottom end146and may extend into void124for any desired distance, as will be explained later.

As illustrated inFIGS. 6 and 7the leading edge sections are attached to blade110with stitch welds150. Flow paths are defined by providing a small gap154between the front surface112of the blade and the rear surface122. The spaces between the stitch welds150results a flow path for the pressurized fluid, allowing fluid to pass from the void124, through the gap154between surfaces122and112, and out between the stitch welds150. In this manner, the location and length of the stitch welds150defines the location at which the fluid will exit the blade110. The gap154(FIG. 7) between the surfaces112and122combined with the total amount of weld gap will define the volume at which the fluid will be ejected from the blade110at a certain fluid pressure.

FIG. 15shows an alternate arrangement of theFIG. 7structure, having the void or groove224formed in the front of the blade instead of having the void or groove124formed in the back of the leading edge section as shown inFIG. 7.

The fluid pressure at a certain point along the blade's length will vary. If the tube140terminates at the top of blade110, the fluid pressure will be highest at that point and will decrease at points closer to the bottom. This is not ideal as there tends to be more resistance from the soils near the bottom of the blade, which requires the highest fluid pressure near that area. This is due to the types of soils typically encountered at lower depths. The surface soils typically include some percentage of organic matter, and higher percentage of air pockets: it is typically less dense. The soils encountered at points deeper can include the more difficult soils including clay. Thus there is an area, illustrated inFIG. 5, as a critical high friction area. This is the area in which the fluid is most critical. In order to assure that the fluid is ejected most aggressively in this area tube140can be extended so that it terminates at a position towards the bottom of this critical high friction area, the tube end146is located near the bottom end118of the blade110. The fluid pressure in void124will be highest at the point the tube terminates. In this manner the volume of fluid at this point can be maximized.

In addition to varying the length of tube140, the number of leading edge sections120that are welded onto blade110can be-varied to match the requirements of a specific job, including specific installation depths. The number of and location of the stitch welds can also be adjusted to tailor a plow100for a specific application. In this manner it is possible to provide a nearly infinite variety of configurations in an economic manner.

Another embodiment is illustrated inFIGS. 9 and 10. In this configuration a manifold160is installed in between the blade110and the leading edge sections120. The manifold includes drilled holes166extending from a front side164to a rear side162, as illustrated inFIG. 10. The drilled holes166intersect at the middle, and when the leading edges120are installed onto the front side164the drilled holes166will terminate at the void124in the leading edge120. In this manner a flow path is defined by the void124and the holes166which will allow fluid to be routed from tube140to nozzles168that are installed at the rear side162of the manifold160.

In this embodiment varying the nozzles168utilized in the assembly allows control of the flow rates and location of the fluid injection. The nozzles168can be replaced by plugs (not shown) if there are areas where fluid is not required, and the size of the nozzles168can be varied if the there are areas where extra flow is required. It provides a plow that can be modified using hand tools, without welding.

Still another preferred embodiment is illustrated inFIGS. 11,11A,12and13. In this embodiment the fluid tube140has been located on the opposite side of blade110, the rear side114. As can be seen inFIG. 12the fluid tube is located between the blade110and the chute40. In this configuration it is protected by plates42. The fluid tube includes an inlet fitting142at the top and travels to the bottom end118of blade110where it terminates at tube end146. The cross hatched portion shown inFIG. 11Arepresents a weld.

Tube end146is adapted to attach to a bottom end section126, as illustrated inFIG. 13. Bottom end section126includes void128in the top side127as illustrated inFIG. 14. Tube140includes a bend that allows it to enter into void. The tube140is then sealed by welding it to the bottom end section126and the blade110with weld156such that the fluid is forced into void128. The bottom end section126is also welded to the blade110at the locations where it contacts the blade110, thus sealing the void128.

Void128intersects void124at the bottom-front corner of blade110. At this point the fluid is transferred to void124and will flow along the front edge112of blade110. As described for the previous two embodiments, the fluid can then be allowed to travel to the edge of the blade and out to the soil either through a gap and spaces between stitch welds150, or through a manifold160between the front edge sections120and the blade110.FIGS. 11 and 12illustrate the use of the stitch welds150and gaps151between stitch welds150. However, the manifold160would work equally well.

All the previously described embodiments provide a plow that can be tailored to provide fluid injection characteristics to match specific job requirements. The components are all manufactured with traditional manufacturing processes. The flow paths are defined by stacking together leading edge sections with flow voids, and welding or otherwise attaching them to a blade. This configuration provides appropriate function and provides an easily tailored configuration.