Snow plow dolly

A dolly specifically adapted to carry a snow plow blade having a mounting yoke and straight lower edge has a longitudinal beam elongated between front and rear extremities, a transverse beam orthogonally attached to the longitudinal beam and having an upwardly directed channel for receiving the straight lower edge of the plow blade, and a cross bar for supporting the mounting yoke. The cross bar is mounted atop a jack device which controls the elevation of the cross bar. Monodirectionally rotatable wheels are mounted beneath the extremities of the longitudinal beam. Omnidirectionally rotatable wheels are mounted beneath the extremities of the transverse beam.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to snow plows, and more particularly concerns a 
dolly adapted to support, transport and adjustably align a snowplow blade 
while dismounted from a plowing vehicle. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Snow plows are generally comprised of a horizontal elongated arcuate blade 
having an A-frame yoke support assembly which is engaged by a mounting 
bracket upon the plowing vehicle. The yoke generally has attachment means 
for a hydraulic lifting unit which is adapted to raise and lower the 
blade, thereby contacting the roadway and controlling the depth of swath 
plowed. 
Numerous dollies have been disclosed in the prior art for supporting 
various types of agricultural, construction and industrial equipment, 
including snow plow blades. For example, U. S. Pat. No. 3,941,400 to 
Buttner discloses a dolly for a plow or other utility attachment having a 
connection yoke. It is comprised of an triangular horizontal framework 
having three wheels, a blade receiving member, and a vertically adjustable 
yoke supporting member. The Buttner dolly is adapted to be positioned 
beneath a suspended plow blade. The blade is then lowered upon the 
receiving member, and the yoke support is then raised to a position 
supporting the yoke. The plow blade may then be disconnected from its 
mounting brackets. The yoke may then be lowered to a position which is 
more stable for transport and storage. The position of the blade receiving 
member is located at one extremity of the dolly which, along with a three 
wheeled design, creates an unstable base for a plow. This may be quite 
dangerous, particularly in the case of larger blades which may weigh over 
650 pounds. Moreover, the lifting mechanism consists of a pair of lifting 
screw means. Adjustment of yoke height by a single individual requires 
small incremental adjustments alternating between the two screw means in 
order to preclude tipping of the dolly. This process is time consuming and 
contributes to the instability of the design. 
Another snow plow dolly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,531 to Elia. 
This dolly suffers from similar design inadequacies to that of the Buttner 
dolly. Specifically it is comprised of a three wheeled base of T-shaped 
configuration. The plow blade rest, at the forward extremity, could allow 
the blade to tip forward when raised. The yoke supporting means consists 
of a bracket which is bolted to the base and is difficult to adjust. The 
user would have to reach under the A-frame in order to access the bolts. 
Even then some external lifting means would be necessary. Furthermore, 
both the aforesaid dollies present a small footprint area relative to the 
plow thereby contributing to an unstable condition. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a plow blade 
dolly adapted to store and transport a dismounted snow plow blade. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dolly of the 
aforesaid nature which provides a stable base of support. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide a dolly of the 
aforesaid nature having a yoke supporting means which may be easily 
height-adjusted. 
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a dolly of the 
aforesaid nature which is durable, capable of accommodating snow plow 
blades of varied design, and amenable to low cost manufacture. 
These and other beneficial objects and advantages will be apparent from the 
following description. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The above and other beneficial objects and advantages are accomplished in 
accordance with the present invention by a plow blade dolly adapted to 
support and transport a plow blade dismounted from a vehicle, said plow 
blade comprised of an arcuate metal structure horizontally elongated 
between opposed lateral extremities and having a concave front surface, 
convex rear surface, and straight lower edge adapted to contact a roadway 
upon lowering of the plow blade, said plow blade having a support yoke 
having a forward extremity associated with the rear surface of said blade 
and a rear extremity adapted to be engaged by lifting means associated 
with a plowing vehicle, said dolly comprised of: 
a) a longitudinal support beam horizontally elongated between front and 
rear extremities and having top and bottom surfaces, 
b) a transverse support beam horizontally elongated between outer 
extremities and symmetrically disposed about and perpendicular to said 
longitudinal support beam, said transverse support beam having a lower 
surface affixed to the upper surface of said longitudinal support beam at 
a point substantially equidistant of said front and rear extremities, said 
transverse support beam having an upper surface having an upwardly 
disposed receiving channel adapted to receive the lower edge of said plow 
blade, 
c) a jack disposed upon the top surface of said longitudinal support beam 
adjacent the rear extremity thereof, 
d) an elongated extension arm configured to engage and activate said jack, 
e) an elongated crossbar centrally supported by said jack and disposed in 
parallel relationship to said transverse support beam, said crossbar 
adapted to adjustably support said yoke, and 
f) four casters, each downwardly disposed from the lower surface of said 
front, rear and outer support beam extremities. 
In a preferred embodiment, the longitudinal and transverse support beams 
may be fabricated from five inch wide channel iron, the channel upwardly 
disposed on said transverse member and downwardly disposed on said 
longitudinal member. The casters may be of the swivel type on the outer 
extremities and fixed axis type on said front and rear extremity. 
The jack may be in the form of a conventional scissor type activated by a 
rotatable threaded rod. In alternative embodiments, a hand pump hydraulic 
jack may be used. In yet other embodiments, a hydraulic cylinder may be 
used having quick-disconnect line connectors to the hydraulic pump means 
of the plowing vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FIGS. 1-3, an embodiment of the plow blade dolly of the 
present invention is shown comprised of orthogonally disposed longitudinal 
and transverse support beams, 10 and 11, respectively, and crossbar 12 
mounted upon jack 13. 
Longitudinal support beam 10 is shown comprised of a straight piece of 
C-cross section channel steel extending between front and rear extremities 
14 and 15, respectively. The interior or channel-shaped side of the 
C-cross section is downwardly directed as bottom surface 16, and the 
opposed flat surface is designated top surface 17. Said longitudinal 
support beam may range in length between about 4 and 6 feet. 
Transverse support beam 11, comprised of C-cross section steel, is 
elongated between outer extremities 18, and may be further characterized 
in having upper and lower surfaces 19 and 20, respectively, said upper 
surface being the interior of the C-cross section. Said transverse support 
beam is attached as by welding to top surface 17 of said longitudinal beam 
in a manner disposing the two beams in orthogonal relationship. The site 
of attachment is such as to represent the midpoints of both beams. The 
contour of said upper surface is such as to constitute a receiving channel 
21 for retaining the lower edge 22 of snow plow blade 23. The length of 
transverse support beam 11, measured between said outer extremities, will 
range between about 6 and 7 feet. Accordingly, it is to be noted that beam 
11 is preferably between about 20% and 40% longer than longitudinal beam 
10. This provides improved support for the snow plow blade assembly 36. 
The illustrated embodiment of jack 13 is comprised of a base plate 24, top 
plate 25, scissor arms 26 pivotably joined to said plates, and threaded 
control rod 27 which interacts with said scissor arms. Turning movement of 
control rod 27 causes elevational changes in the position of top plate 25 
relative to base plate 24. An extension arm 28 is provided for engaging 
control rod 27 at a distance laterally displaced from said jack. Jack 13 
is mounted, as by welding, upon top surface 17 of beam 10 at a distance of 
about one foot from rear extremity 15. 
Cross bar 12 is mounted at its midpoint upon top plate 25 of said jack in 
an orientation parallel to beam 11. The length of cross bar 12 may range 
between about 2 and 4 feet, and is accordingly about 40% and 60% of the 
length of beam 11. 
Downwardly directed swivel casters 30 are mounted upon lower surface 20 of 
beam 11 adjacent outer extremities 18. Downwardly directed fixed casters 
31 are mounted upon bottom surface 16 of beam 10 adjacent extremities 14 
and 15 and oriented to rotate in a vertical plane which passes through the 
centerline of beam 10. The aforesaid arrangement of one pair of stationary 
casters and one pair of swivelled casters provides controlled movement of 
the dolly, and minimizes "skating." The four wheels are dimensioned and 
positioned so as to ride evenly upon a flat floor surface 37. 
In operation, a snow plow blade assembly 36 comprising elongated arcuate 
blade 23 having lower straight edge 22, and mounting frame 34 attached to 
convex rear surface 35 of blade 23 is caused to rest upon the dolly as 
shown in FIG. 3. It is to be noted that edge 22 resides within receiving 
channel 21, and frame 34 rests upon crossbar 12. 
When it is desired to attach snow plow blade assembly 36 to the front of 
the plow truck, the assembly, resting upon the dolly is maneuvered into a 
position wherein mounting means 37 on frame 34 are vertically aligned with 
cooperating mounting means on the truck. The jack is then employed to 
cause mounting means 37 on frame 34 to achieve elevational alignment with 
interactive mounting means on the truck. Coupling of the blade assembly 
with the truck is then easily achieved by conventional securing means such 
as pegs, bolts, clamps, lockpins and the like. Once the snow plow blade 
assembly is secured to the truck jack 13 is manipulated downwardly, and 
the dolly is wheeled to a storage site. 
While particular examples of the present invention have been shown and 
described, it is apparent that changes and modifications may be made 
therein without departing from the invention in its broadest aspects. The 
aim of the appended claims, therefore, is to cover all such changes and 
modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.