Snowplow apparatus

Snowplow apparatus is provided having a blade assembly and elongated tongue secured at one end to the blade assembly and having a connector device at the other end for detachably securing of the tongue to a single-point hitch assembly of an automotive vehicle whereby the tongue may oscillate in a vertical plane about its point of attachment. A stabilizing mechanism secured to the tongue in axially spaced relationship to the connector device detachably connects with the vehicle to prevent oscillation of the tongue about its point of attachment to the hitch assembly of the vehicle in a horizontal plane. The blade assembly is provided with lift units automatically operable upon traversing movement of the blade assembly over a ground surface to be cleared of snow accumulation to lower the blade assembly into plowing relationship when moved in a direction effective for plowing and to lift the blade assembly a distance above the ground and support it for transport when moved in an opposite direction. The blade assembly is constructed in two elements that are pivotable about a center, vertical axis for pivoting to either a V-shape for plowing or to a position parallel to the tongue for minimizing storage space requirements.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates in general to snowplow apparatus for effecting 
removal of accumulations of snow from surfaces such as roadways. It 
relates more particularly to a snowplow apparatus that is attachable to an 
automotive vehicle by a single point connection and automatically operable 
through forward and reverse movement of the apparatus over the road 
surface without mechanisms operated by the vehicle operator to effect 
raising and lowering of its ploughing blade. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Many private roadways of a size such as the relatively long driveways of 
private residences in certain climatic areas receive substantial 
accumulations of snow. To facilitate operation of automotive vehicles over 
these driveways, it is necessary to remove at least a portion of such snow 
accumulations to avoid having vehicles become stuck on the road surface. 
One type of snow removal apparatus that that become extremely popular for 
use on residential driveways as well as for sidewalks is the snow blower 
powered by a gasoline engine or electric motor. While some snow blowers 
are adapted to be mounted on tractors such as garden or lawnmower 
tractors, the most commonly used types are of a walk-behind behind type. 
These walk-behind snow blowers are convenient and efficient when utilized 
for clearing relatively small surface areas such as short drives and 
sidewalks. They are not particularly efficient because of the time 
involved to effect removal of snow from the larger surface areas of 
relatively long private drives as well as from other areas which may be 
utilized by automotive vehicles. The larger tractor mounted blowers, while 
better able to handle larger surface areas, are not as efficient as 
blade-type snow removing apparatus and, coupled with their proportionally 
higher cost, have not been utilized to any great extent. Also, snow 
blowers are generally unsafe for use on drives that are gravel paved as 
contrasted to the asphalt or concrete paved drives. 
Larger sized snow removing apparatus having a blade is generally preferred 
for the relatively longer driveways and other paved areas. Blade-type 
apparatus has the further advantage over the blower apparatus of being 
able to operate on gravel paved surfaces as well as the asphalt and 
concrete paved areas. Blade-type apparatus of appropriate size, however, 
requires a fairly large vehicle to power the blade in removal of snow. To 
minimize the cost of blade-type snowplowing apparatus, blade-type 
mechanisms have been devised for attachment to automotive vehicles such as 
to their axles or bumpers. Blade-type apparatus heretofore devised 
generally includes a structural frame that is of a construction having 
rigidity to maintain the blade in a proper position with respect to the 
vehicle. The frames designed to be attached to the bumper or axle of the 
vehicle can be connected at either the front or the rear of a vehicle. 
Usually, such apparatus is designed for attachment to the rear of the 
vehicle as the rear bumper or associated vehicle frame members are more 
readily accessible. Vehicles of current design have the disadvantage of 
not being designed with bumpers that are of a structural nature capable of 
accepting and providing a suitable mount for the snowplow apparatus. Also, 
the axle structures have been modified substantially to the extent that it 
is also difficult to mount the previously known blade-type snowplow 
apparatus to the axle. These deficiencies in the structural configuration 
of previously known snowplow apparatus and techniques of attachment to 
automotive vehicles has lead to the devising of an improved snowplow 
apparatus of the structure disclosed herein and which is the subject of 
this invention. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The snowplow apparatus provided by this invention comprises a blade 
assembly secured to an end of an elongated, single-element tongue for 
attachment to the automotive vehicle. The end of the tongue remote to the 
blade assembly is of a type designed for single point connection to a 
mounting structure carried by the vehicle. In particular, the mounting 
mechanism is of the ball coupling type frequently found in use with 
trailers designed to be towed by such vehicles. A stabilizing mechanism in 
the form of cables is provided to maintain alignment of the tongue with 
the longitudinal axis of movement of the vehicle. This stabilizing 
mechanism includes a pair of cables that are coupled to the tongue at a 
point rearwardly of the ball joint connection with the opposite ends being 
secured to the vehicle such as to the bumper mounting structures in 
laterally spaced relationship to the ball joint connection. This 
arrangement and apparatus permits the snowplow apparatus to be moved in 
forward and rearward, reciprocating movement over driveways or other 
surfaces to be cleared of snow and in particular over gravel type 
surfaces. Snow is plowed when the vehicle is moving in a rearward 
direction with the bottom edge of the blade riding over the road, driveway 
or parking area surface. When the vehicle is caused to move in a forward 
direction as for repositioning to enable the blade to traverse another 
ground surface area, blade lift mechanisms that are provided automatically 
operate to elevate the blade a sufficient distance so that it will not 
interfere with its movement. Upon movement of the apparatus in a reverse 
direction as referenced to the vehicle causes automatic operation of the 
blade lift mechanisms to lower the blade into operative relationship to 
the ground surface. It will be noted that operation of the vehicle in a 
reverse direction is, in effect, a forward operating direction for the 
blade to achieve displacement of the snow. 
In accordance with this invention, the blade assembly is of a dual blade 
construction having attachment connections selectively operable to 
maintain the two blade elements in either an aligned straight blade 
configuration or permitting the two elements to be relatively angled to 
each other in a V-shape. This permits the blade assembly to function in 
two modes as may be determined most effective in any particular situation 
by the operator. 
Additionally, in accordance with this invention, the blade elements are 
hingedly mounted in a manner permitting each to be pivoted to a position 
substantially aligned with the tongue to minimize storage space 
requirements. 
These and other objects of this invention will be readily apparent from the 
following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment thereof and 
the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT 
Having reference to the drawings, there is illustrated an embodiment of the 
snowplow apparatus of this invention. This apparatus includes a blade 
assembly 10 mechanically coupled with an elongated tongue 11 adapted for 
interconnecting the apparatus with an automotive vehicle. Attachment of 
the snowplow apparatus is primarily intended for the rear of an automotive 
vehicle and accordingly, only the rear bumper assembly of such a vehicle 
is diagrammatically shown in the drawings and is generally designated by 
the letter V. This bumper assembly includes attachment brackets indicated 
generally at B with a pair of such brackets provided in laterally spaced 
relationship such as is conventional for trailer safety chains. The 
automotive vehicle is also shown as being provided with a hitch assembly 
H. This hitch assembly H may be of the well-known type comprising an 
elongated tube T of square cross-section and designed to telescopically 
interfit in a receiving tube that is incorporated in that portion of the 
hitch assembly rigidly secured to other frame elements of the vehicle 
body. The portions of the hitch assembly other than the tube T are not 
shown as such are well-known in the art and do not form a part of the 
invention. The tube T is provided with a conventional type spherical ball 
connector S that is usually employed in trailer hitch assemblies for 
automotive vehicles. 
The tongue 11 is formed from an elongated tube having a diameter of the 
order of two and one-half inches fabricated from metal and having a wall 
thickness sufficient to provide adequate structural strength to 
accommodate the mechanical forces that are applied to it during operation 
of the apparatus. These forces include not only the axially directed 
forces of both compression and tension, but there is a certain degree of 
torsional force that is also applied to the tongue. Attached to the one 
end of the tongue is the blade assembly 10 with the opposite end being 
provided with a ball connector device 12 of conventional type designed to 
mechanically interconnect and couple with the spherical ball connector S. 
This connector device includes a coupling clamp (not shown) that is 
operated by a hand wheel 13. Such a connector enables the operator to 
readily connect or disconnect this snowplow apparatus from the automotive 
vehicle. 
A tongue stabilizing mechanism 14 is provided to maintain the elongated 
tongue 11 in a longitudinally aligned position with respect to the 
automotive vehicle during the course of operation. The illustrative tongue 
stabilizing mechanism 14 comprises a pair of steel cables or chains 15 
that are each interconnected at one end with a connector unit 16 secured 
to the tongue 11 in rearwardly spaced relationship from the ball connector 
device 12. Structure and operation of the connector unit 16 will be 
further described, but at this point, it will be noted that it is provided 
with a pair of attachment lugs 17 disposed at diametrically opposite sides 
of the tongue as can be best seen in FIG. 2. Each cable 15 is secured to a 
respective lug 17 with the opposite ends of the cables 15 provided with 
connecting devices 18 adapted to facilitate detachable interconnection 
with of the bumper attachment brackets B. It is to be noted that bumper 
systems of currently produced automotive vehicles are designed to 
accommodate slight compressive forces for safety purposes and thus the 
brackets B are affixed to those portions of the vehicle's bumper assembly 
V, or suitable parts of the vehicle frame so as to not interfere with the 
normal operation of the bumper. To facilitate interconnection of the 
cables to the brackets, it is advantageous to provide connecting devices 
18 that are easy to attach to or detach from the attachment brackets B. 
The connecting devices 18 are shown as being of a hook-type enabling 
insertion of a hook part through an aperture in the bracket with the end 
of the cable 15 being looped through an eye formed in the hook and secured 
to itself by a cable clamp 19. 
In accordance with this invention, the blade assembly 10 comprises two 
blade elements 20 and a vertically disposed center support 21. Each of the 
two blade elements 20, each of which are of a length of the order of three 
and one-half to four feet, is pivotally secured to the center support by 
respective sets of hinges 22 to permit swinging of the blade elements 
about a vertical axis between the illustrated straight blade configuration 
shown in FIG. 2 and either rearwardly angled positions shown in broken 
lines or a position where the two blade elements are aligned in 
substantially parallel relationship to each other and to the tongue 11. 
The center support 21 in this illustrative embodiment is of a hollow 
construction and structural details will be described. It will suffice at 
this point to note that it is of two piece construction comprising a rear 
section 23 and a front section 24 that are mechanically secured together. 
The rear section 23 includes a transversely extending backwall 25 and 
opposed sidewalls 26 formed at each lateral side of the backwall. The 
hinges 22 are secured to these sidewalls 26. Attached to the center 
support 21 is the tongue 11 with attachment being made to the backwall 25 
by an adjustable coupling mechanism 27 that can be best seen in FIGS. 5 
and 7. This coupling mechanism 27 is designed to permit relative 
adjustment of the angular position of the blade elements 20 about a 
horizontal axis and to thereby provide a degree of adjustment as to the 
angle at which the blade elements will operate on the accumulated snow 
covering of a road surface. To permit angular adjustment, the mechanism 27 
includes a pair of L-shaped brackets 28 which are spaced apart a 
sufficient distance to receive a terminal end portion 29 of the tongue. 
The L-shaped brackets 28 each include a mounting leg 30 adapted to be 
mechanically secured to the back wall 25 of the center support. Each 
bracket also includes a longitudinally extending leg 31 with each such leg 
spaced a distance and parallel to the other and projecting a distance 
rearwardly from the transverse back wall 26. The terminal end portion of 
the tongue 29 comprises a flatened portion of the tube having a length and 
width dimension such that it will interfit between the spaced apart 
longitudinal legs 31. Each of the L-shaped brackets 28 is positioned with 
the longitudinally extending legs 31 oriented in vertical planes. A pivot 
connection between the terminal end 29 of the tongue 11 and the brackets 
is effected by a hinge pin 32, thereby enabling the center support 21 with 
the blades 20 to be pivoted about a horizontal axis and thereby change the 
angular position of the front face of the blades. Securing of the blades 
in a predetermined position is effected by an adjusting system consisting 
of a retainer pin 33 also adapted to extend transversely through the 
longitudinal legs 31 and may consist of a bolt and nut combination. 
Adjustability is provided by formation of a plurality of apertures 34 in 
each of the legs 31 in an arcuate alignment with the retainer pin 33 
inserted through a selected set of such apertures. The terminal end 29 of 
the tongue is formed with at least one aperture (not shown) through which 
the pin 33 extends. 
Incorporated with the blade assembly 10 is a blade angle adjustment 
mechanism 35 which is operable to maintain the blade elements 20 at a 
desired position. This adjustment mechanism 35 includes a position 
adjusting bracket 36 affixed to the tongue 11 in spaced relationship to 
the center support 21 and a pair of elongated struts 37 formed from metal 
tubes having a diameter of the order of two inches. One end of each of the 
struts 37 is pivotally interconnected with the adjusting bracket 36 with 
the opposite ends pivotally connected to respective ones of the blade 
elements 20 in relatively outward spaced relationship with respect to the 
center support 21. Respective hinge brackets 38 are provided for 
connecting with the struts 37 with each of the brackets mechanically 
secured to a rearwardly facing surface of a respective blade element. Each 
bracket 38 consists of a U-shaped structure having horizontally extending, 
spaced parallel plates 39 that project a distance rearwardly from the 
respective blade elements. A hinge pin 40 extends vertically through the 
bracket plates 39 and an aperture formed in the end of the respective 
strut 37 to enable relative pivoting movement. 
Details of construction and operation of the adjusting bracket 36 can be 
seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 9. It includes a pair of plates 41 disposed in 
superposed relationship extend transversely across the tongue 11. Each of 
these plates 41 which is of a generally rectangular shape has a central 
portion 42 which is arcuately configured to generally conform to a portion 
of the outer surface of the tubular tongue 11 as can be best seen in FIG. 
9. This configuration is operative to prevent the adjusting bracket from 
pivoting in the plane of the tongue. Each of the plates 41 include outer 
ends 43 that are vertically spaced apart a distance to receive the ends of 
the struts 37. Interconnection of the struts to the plates is effected by 
respective hinge bolts 44 extending vertically through the bracket 36 and 
the struts 37. It will be noted by reference to FIG. 2 that the struts 37 
are secured to the blade elements 20 by the hinge brackets 38 at a 
vertical elevation which is below the point of interconnection of the 
tongue 11 with the center support 21. This results in the struts 37 being 
displaced at a slight angle with respect to the tongue with the hinge 
brackets 38 and adjusting bracket 36 being configured and dimensioned to 
accommodate this angled disposition. Longitudinal adjustment of the 
bracket 36 along the tongue 11 effects the angular positioning of the 
blade elements 20 as the bracket 36 is longitudinally slideable along the 
tongue. Securing of the bracket at a desired location is effected by a 
positioning pin 45. A number of apertures 46 of a size to receive the pin 
are formed in the tongue along its longitudinal axis with the apertures 
being spaced a distance apart as can be seen in FIG. 2. The pin 45 is 
advantageously formed with a handgrip 45a at its upper end and is provided 
with a detent-type latch 45b at its lower end to prevent inadvertent 
dislodgement. Appropriate alignment of the brackets 36 relative to those 
apertures permits insertion of the pin 45 through an aperture formed in 
the bracket and a selected one of the tongue apertures 46. As can be 
readily seen in FIG. 2, this permits the adjusting bracket 36 to be 
located so as to position the blade elements 20 in either the straight 
transverse position or any one of several angular positions as well as a 
position substantially parallel to the tongue 11. Additional selection in 
the positioning can be effected by forming a plurality of apertures 47 in 
the bracket plates 41 in longitudinally spaced alignment. Two such 
additional apertures 47 are shown in the illustrative embodiment. It will 
be understood that the two blade elements 20 will be concurrently placed 
in the same relative positions through positioning of the adjusting 
bracket at a selected location. 
In this illustrative embodiment of the invention, each of the blade 
elements 20 is shown, as can be best seen in FIGS. 1 and 7, as being 
formed with an elongated center panel 50 that is vertically disposed and 
is secured at its one end to the hinges 22 attached to the center support 
21. A lift plate 51 is provided at the bottom edge of the center panel and 
extends in downwardly and forwardly inclined relationship thereto 
terminating in a leading edge 52 that is adapted traverse the ground 
surface in closely spaced relationship to be cleared of snow. Movement of 
the snow is facilitated by this lift plate 51 as it elevates the snow 
which, upon engaging the center panel, will tend to be rolled in the 
direction of plowing, thereby making it easier to displace the snow with 
the blade elements diposed in either a straight or angled relationship. 
Carried by the lift plate 51 is a shoe plate 53 which is joined therewith 
at its leading edge 52 and extends a distance rearwardly therefrom in a 
substantially horizontal plane. When the blade assembly 10 is positioned 
in operative relationship to the ground surface to be cleared of snow, the 
shoe plate 53 engages that surface, thus supporting the blade elements for 
sliding movement over the ground surface and prevents the blade elements 
from digging into the ground. A control plate 54 is provided at the top of 
the center panel 50 in parallel relationship thereto and projecting in an 
upwardly and forwardly inclined relative position. Where large 
accumulations of snow are being removed, this control plate tends to 
enhance the rolling effect and also prevent snow from flowing over the top 
of the blade elements. The vertical height of the blade elements 20 is 
determined by the depth of snow accumulations expected to be removed by 
the snowplow apparatus and may be in the range of one and one-half to two 
feet. While the blade elements 20 are shown as being integrally formed 
structures such as by molding or extruding of suitable plastic material, 
it will be understood that the several components of the blade elements 
may be individually fabricated and assembled and that these elements may 
be fabricated from materials other than plastic. 
In addition to serving as means for connecting the blade assembly 10 to the 
tongue 11, the center support 21 functions to complete the face of the 
blade assembly by forming an interconnection between the two blade 
elements 20 at their centrally located, adjacent ends. This 
interconnection is effected by the front section 24 which, as can be best 
seen in FIGS. 2 and 5, is of V-shaped configuration when viewed on a 
horizontal plane having respective vertically disposed walls 55 which 
converge in a forward direction at a center line 56. Each of the walls 55 
extends a distance laterally to project over marginal end portions of a 
respective blade element 20 with the vertical edges 57 of the walls 
tapered at both the upper and lower ends to form angled edges 58 and 59. 
These angled edges are configured to accommodate the inclined surfaces of 
the lift plate 51 and the control plate 54 when the blade elements 20 are 
placed in a straight aligned position. While the illustrated front section 
24 is of a straight line and flat surface configuration, the front face 
may be otherwise configured. For example, the front facing surfaces may be 
concave configured to more closely approximate the concave front face of 
the blade elements. 
The illustrated embodiment of the center support 21 has rear and front 
sections 23 and 24 that are mechanically interconnected. The rear section 
is shown as being fabricated from a section of metal channel of a length 
substantially equal to the vertical height of the blade elements 20 and is 
open at both ends. It is formed with a wall thickness that provides 
sufficient structural strength to accommodate the expected torsional or 
bending forces that may be encountered during the course of normal use of 
the apparatus and having a width of the order of eight inches. The back 
wall 25 and sidewalls 26 provide a structurally rigid mounting base for 
attachment of the brackets 28 for coupling with the tongue and the hinges 
22 that carry the blade elements 20. The front section 24 is shown as 
being fabricated from a suitable plastic material such as by a molding 
technique. It is formed with a pair of flanges 60 that project from the 
rear face of the walls 55 and are each positioned to extend along the 
inner face of a respective one of sidewalls 26 of the rear section 23 and 
maintain the front section against lateral displacement. Extending between 
each flange 60 and the outer component of the respective walls 55 is a 
seating surface 61 which bears against the edge of the rear section's 
sidewalls 26 for carrying of the longitudinally directed forces developed 
as a consequence of plowing operations. A cap plate 62 is integrally 
formed with the walls 55 at their upper ends and extends rearwardly in 
overlying relationship to the rear section 23 and is configured to close 
the top. Mechanical securing of the front section 24 to the rear section 
23 at the upper end of the center support is effected by a locking lug 63 
integrally molded with the cap plate 62 on its under surface along each 
longitudinal side at a position to interfit in a mating recess 64 formed 
in each of the sidewalls 26. Mechanical securing of the two sections is 
completed by a fastening device such as a bolt and nut assembly 65 
extending through the sidewall 26 and a flange extension 66 formed with 
each flange 60 at its lower end. This construction enables the several 
components to be readily attached to the rear section 23 and the front 
section 24 to be easily secured by the locking lugs 63 and recesses 64 and 
the bolt and nut assembly through the open bottom. While this two section 
construction of the center support 21 has certain advantages, it is to be 
noted that it may be otherwise constructed such as by molding from 
suitable plastic material as a single unitary element. 
It is advantageous to provide the blade assembly with glide pads 67 to 
enhance its ability to traverse uneven surfaces such as may be encountered 
in the case of gravel paved roads or driveway surfaces. Two glide pads are 
provided with one pad being secured to each blade element at about its 
midpoint as can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4 with their structural 
configuration shown in greater detail in FIG. 13. Each glide pad 67 is 
formed from an elongated strip of flat metal plate in a generally L-shaped 
configuration and having a vertically extending mounting leg 68 adapted to 
be bolted to the rear of the center panel 50 of a respective blade element 
20. The mounting leg 68 extends downwardly to a point slightly above a 
horizontal plane defined by the shoe plate 53 of the blade element where 
it joins with a generally horizontally disposed glide plate 69 which 
extends a distance rearwardly from the blade element and terminates in an 
upturned lip 69a which facilitates initial reverse movement of the blade 
assembly. It is advantageous to have the glide plate angled slightly 
downward such as at an angle of the order of five (5) degrees to the 
horizontal plane or ground surface G. The glide plates in the illustrative 
embodiment are about three (3) inches wide and eight (8) inches in length. 
The general function of the glide pads is that during the course of a 
plowing operation, they slide over the ground surface and aid in 
supporting of the blade assembly for movement in cooperation with the 
blade element's shoe plates 53. If the shoe plates should encounter a 
depression in the ground surface, the glide pads will support the blade 
assembly to maintain it in a relatively stable plane of movement 
paralleling the general plane of the ground surface G. 
For reverse movement of the apparatus such as in repositioning for 
subsequent plowing movement, it is particularly advantageous to lift and 
maintain the blade assembly 10 in an elevated position above the ground 
surface. This is desirable to prevent the shoe plate 53 from digging into 
the ground surface, thereby avoiding unnecessary wear as well as 
facilitating movement. To achieve this objective an automatically operable 
lift mechanism is provided which functions without operator control input 
to elevate the blade assembly 10 upon initial displacement of the blade 
assembly in a reverse direction and to then lower the blade assembly upon 
initial movement in a forward or plowing direction. This lift mechanism 
consists of two similar lift units 70 with one being carried by or affixed 
to each of the blade elements 20 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 with further 
constructional details shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. These lift units 70 are 
shown in full lines in these drawing figures as being in a position 
operative to effect lifting of the blade assembly 10 a short distance 
above the ground surface G diagrammatically represented by a broken line. 
The distance of elevation is determined in part by the type of ground 
surface on which the snow plow apparatus will be used so as to provide 
sufficient clearance. Greater clearance is desired in the case of surfaces 
paved with gravel than concrete or asphalt paved surfaces, but a lift in 
the range of one-half to one inch. 
Each lift unit 70 is attached to a respective blade element 20 at 
approximately a midpoint laterally of element, thus providing 
substantially balanced support. The units comprise a vertically disposed, 
elongated strut 71 pivotably attached at its upper end of the blade 
element by a hinge bracket 72 and provides a ground engaging skid 73 at 
its lower end. The hinge bracket includes a base plate 74 adapted to be 
bottled to the center panel 50 of the blade element and provided with a 
pair of rearwardly projecting lugs 75 spaced a distance apart 
horizontally. Secured to the upper end of the tubular strut 71 is a hinge 
tube 76 extending between the lugs 75 and mounted on an axle 77 having its 
ends fixed in the lugs. The hinge tube and axle are of a length and 
diameter sufficient to accommodate torsional forces that may be applied as 
a consequence of the skid 73 sliding over the ground surface. The skid 73 
comprises a metal plate having a center section 78 adapted to engage the 
ground surface and upwardly inclined lead section 79 which facilitates 
movement of the skid over the ground surface, particularly one paved with 
gravel. A trailing section 80 is formed at the opposite end of the center 
section 78 and has an upwardly curved configuration which prevents the 
skid from digging into the ground surface when the apparatus is moved over 
the ground surface as in a plowing operation. 
Attachment of the skid 73 to the strut 71 is effected by a short 
cylindrical tube 81 secured at one of its ends to the upper surface of the 
skid's center section 78 as by welding and which telescopically receives 
an end portion of the strut. Mechanical securing of the tube and strut is 
effected by a pin 82 adapted to project through sets of aligned holes 83 
and 84 formed in the tube and in the strut 71, respectively. A spring 
retainer clip 85 is provided to engage with the pin 82 to retain the pin 
in an aligned set of holes, but which is readily removable to permit 
adjustment of the angular position of the skid with respect to the blade 
element as well as the extent of vertical elevation. In this illustrative 
embodiment, the strut 71 is provided with three holes 84 that are disposed 
in axially spaced alignment. Three holes 83 are provided in the tube 81 
and in axially spaced relationship, but they are also angularly spaced 
apart by angles such as 15 and 30 degrees. The purpose of the angular 
spacing is to permit the skid 73 to be more nearly aligned with its line 
of travel when the blade elements are placed in different angled 
positions. It is not necessary that the skid be precisely aligned with 
direction of movement and even though the tongue 11 may be provided a 
larger member aperture 46 for position of the blade elements in other than 
15 and 30 degree positions, three angularly spaced holes 83 are deemed 
sufficient. Vertical adjustment of the distance of the blade above the 
ground surface can be effected as by aligning a selected hole 83 in the 
tube 81 with a selected one of the holes 84 in the strut 71. 
Operation of the lift units 70 will be readily apparent by reference to 
FIG. 7. With the lift units supporting the blade assembly in an elevated 
position, movement of the blade assembly to the left will result in 
pivoting of the struts 71 to the broken line position and effect automatic 
lowering of the blade assembly. Continued movement of the blade assembly 
to the left as seen in FIG. 7 will merely result in the skids 73 following 
with their trailing sections 80 sliding over the ground surface. When it 
is desired to move the blade assembly 10 to the right when viewed in FIG. 
7, the lift units 70 will automatically operate to elevate the blade 
assembly. During initial movement to the right, the skids 73 will remain 
at one position and the struts 71 will relatively pivot as toward a 
respective blade element, thereby causing vertical elevation of the blade 
assembly. A stop block 86 may be applied to the rear face of the blade 
element's center panel 50 to prevent movement of the strut beyond a center 
position. 
As previously noted, the tongue stabilizing mechanism 14 included a 
connector unit 16 designed for securing the stabilizing cables 15 tautly 
between the vehicle and the elongated tongue 11. The objective is to 
substantially prevent lateral swinging movement of the tongue 11 and thus 
permit utilization of the single-point, ball joint connection of the 
tongue with the vehicle. Structural details of the illustrative embodiment 
of the connector unit can be best seen in FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 and which 
comprises a tubular sleeve 90 telescopically mounted on the tongue 11 for 
relative axial displacement. A plurality of sets of holes 91 in spaced 
apart, axial alignment are formed in the sleeve at the top and bottom in 
diametrically opposed relationship and of a size to receive a retainer pin 
92. This retainer pin is formed with a hand grip 92a at the top and is 
provided with a detent-type latch 92b at its lower end to prevent 
inadvertent removal. A plurality of holes 93 are also formed in the tongue 
11 in axially spaced alignment at the top and bottom in diametrically 
opposed relationship to cooperatively align with respective ones of the 
holes 91 in the sleeve 90. It will be seen in FIG. 11 that the series of 
holes 91 in the sleeve 90 are not spaced equidistantly with respect to the 
spacing of the holes 93 in the tongue. With the center holes 91, 93 
aligned, the holes to the left of center are offset by a distance of 
one-half their diameter while the sets of holes to the right are offset by 
a full diameter. This offset arrangement of the holes enables the 
connector unit 16 to be displaced in relatively small increments and 
thereby better effect maintaining of the cables in relatively taut 
relationship. It is difficult to secure the cable in the desired taut 
manner and temperature differences affect the cable's length, but this 
connector unit is capable of enabling the operator to readily set the 
sleeve 90 on the tongue at a position for maintaining of the tongue in a 
longitudinally aligned position with respect to the vehicle. It will be 
understood that the number of holes 93 in the tongue 11 and the number of 
holes 91 in the connector unit sleeve may be increased to obtain greater 
extent of adjustment giving due consideration to maintaining the 
structural integrity of the tongue. 
In this illustrative embodiment of this invention, the ends of the cables 
15 are secured to the respective attachment lugs 17 of the sleeve 90 of 
the connector unit 16 by means which further facilitates placing the 
cables in taut relationship. One of the cables has an end connectable to a 
respective lug by an S-hook 94 while the other cable is connected to its 
lug by a turnbuckle 95. The S-hook and turnbuckle each have hook elements 
that couple with the lugs through respective apertures 96. The cables have 
end portions looped through or around elements of the turnbuckle and 
S-hook and secured to the cable by cable clamps 97. With the sleeve 90 
secured at a selected position on the tongue, the turnbuckle 95 can be 
operated as necessary to eliminate any remaining slack and obtain the 
desired tautness. It will be noted that another turnbuckle may be 
substituted for the S-hook 94 if a greater degree of adjustability is 
desired. 
The illustrated embodiment of the snowplow apparatus of this invention is 
constructed to enable the blade elements 20 to be swung to a position 
substantially parallel to the tongue 11 as shown in FIG. 2 for compactness 
to minimize storage space requirements. To permit swinging of the blade 
elements to this position, the connector unit 16 is released to enable it 
to move axially and permit the bracket 36 of the blade angle adjustment 
mechanism 35 to move to the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 2. An 
aperture 46a is provided in a forward portion of the tongue whereby the 
bracket 36 may be secured to maintain the blade elements in the folded 
storage position. 
To facilitate movement of the apparatus when disconnected from a vehicle 
such as to or from storage, or to effect connection with a vehicle, the 
apparatus is provided with a wheel set 100. This wheel set which can be 
seen in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 is shown in greater structural detail in FIGS. 
6 and 7 and is attached to the upper end of the center support 21 where it 
does not interfere with the plowing operations of the apparatus. The wheel 
set includes a pair of wheels 101 journalled on an axle 102 carried by a 
mounting bracket 103. This bracket 103 includes a transverse bar 104 which 
is secured to the back wall 25 of the rear section 23 of the center 
support 21 and an axle support leg 105 at each end of the bar. The axle 
support legs 105 project a distance above the top end of the center 
support 21 and toward the front of the blade assembly. 10. When the blade 
elements 20 are in the stored configuration parallel to the tongue 11 and 
the apparatus is separated from the vehicle, the apparatus is inverted 
from the orientation shown in FIG. 1 to place the wheels 101 on the ground 
surface. It is relatively easy then for the apparatus to be maneuvered 
manually by holding the tongue 11 adjacent the end with the ball connector 
device 12. Lateral stability of the apparatus is enhanced by forming the 
transverse bar 104 of a length greater than the width of the center 
support 21. 
It will be readily apparent that a novel and improved snowplow apparatus is 
provided by this invention. This apparatus having a single point 
attachment to the automotive vehicle enables it to be readily connected 
thereto and operated by such a vehicle without other mechanical controls 
to effect its operation. The blade assembly is of a construction that 
provides enhanced operation in effecting plowing or displacement of 
accumulations of snow.