Abstract:
A foldable blade having foldable wing portions for use in earth moving machinery. The foldable wing portions include a locking mechanism which enables the foldable wing portions to be locked in a folded position or an extended position. The locking mechanism is robust thus ensuring that the wing portions will be able to withstand considerable forces without collapsing during the pushing, scraping or transporting processes. The locking mechanism includes a locking pin assembly which is easy to lock and unlock, and also allows the foldable wing portions to be rotatable.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0001]    This invention relates generally to a foldable blade and, more particularly, to a foldable blade having folding wing portions.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    Blade assemblies are widely used in earth working machinery as well as other similar machines in order to push, scrape or otherwise transport earth between two remote locations. These same blade assemblies may also be used to clear snow from highways, streets and parking lots, as well as perform a host of other tasks.  
           [0003]    Typically, blade assemblies include a replaceable cutting edge at the bottom portion of the blade and a stiffener plate at the opposing top portion of the blade. Also, conventional blade assemblies are of a fixed length typically greater than three (3) meters. This fixed length enables the blade to scrape or push a large amount of earth during each pass of the machine.  
           [0004]    However, some blades are of such a large length that transporting the machine is of great difficulty. This is due mainly to the limited width of many highways, streets and the like. In fact, there are even many regulations, both domestically and internationally, that regulate or limit the entire width of the machine during transport. In one such known regulation, the width of the entire machine during transport is limited to no more than approximately three (3) meters. Thus, with blades over three (3) meters in length, for example, the entire blade assembly must be removed from the machine prior to transporting the machine.  
           [0005]    The removal of the blade assembly from the machine is a very time consuming and tedious task. This can also be a very cost prohibitive procedure, especially when the machine must be transported several times depending on the location of the next work site. In any event, in order to remove the blade from the machine, several hydraulic systems, wiring harnesses and other mechanics must be disassembled, removed and stored prior to the transporting of the machine. To reattach the blade assembly to the machine, the reverse operation must be performed. After the blade is reassembled, the hydraulics as well as other components must be tested for reliability.  
           [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,618 to Niemela et al., issued on Jun. 17, 1997, discloses a plow with plow wings which are individually adjustable for both extension and forward angling. A hydraulic cylinder is pivotally attached to the plow wings and, when actuated, extends and forward angles the plow wings. However, during use of the plow a large load is placed upon the wings, and hence the hydraulic cylinder. This large load placed on the hydraulic cylinder may damage or even result in total failure of the hydraulic cylinder thus leading to collapse of the plow wings. This will render the plow useless and will require valuable time to repair.  
           [0007]    The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    In one aspect of the present invention, a foldable blade has a main body portion and at least one side foldable wing portion rotatably mounted to a side of the main body portion between a first position and a second position. A first locking assembly is positioned between the main body portion and the at least one side foldable wing portion and locks the at least one side foldable wing in the first position and the second position. A second locking assembly is positioned between the main body portion and the at least one side foldable wing portion and locks the at least one side foldable wing portion in the first position.  
           [0009]    In another aspect of the present invention, a foldable blade has a main body portion and a foldable wing portion rotatably mounted, between a first position and a second position, to the main body portion. A locking mechanism is positioned between the main body portion and the foldable wing portion, and includes a first locking assembly and a second locking assembly. The foldable wing portion is rotated about the first locking assembly and locked in the first and second positions by the first locking assembly and further locked in the second position by the second locking assembly.  
           [0010]    In still another aspect of the present invention, a method of folding and locking a foldable blade into a retracted position is provided. The method has the steps of removing a first pin from apertures of a first locking assembly and removing a second pin from apertures of a second locking assembly. A side wing of the foldable blade is then extended outward and rotated rearwardly about a pivot pin of the first locking assembly. A second set of apertures of the first locking assembly are then aligned and a pin is inserted therein. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 shows a front view of the foldable blade of the present invention;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 shows a rear view of the foldable blade of the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 shows a locking mechanism of the foldable blade in a locked first position;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 shows a foldable wing of the foldable blade in an extended position;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 shows the locking mechanism in a locked second position;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the locking mechanism of the foldable blade in a locked first position;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 7 shows the foldable wing in an extended position; and  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 8 shows the locking mechanism of the second embodiment in a locked second position. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 shows a foldable blade of the present invention. The foldable blade is generally depicted as reference numeral  2  and includes a main body portion  4  and opposing side foldable wing portions  6  in substantial alignment with the main body portion  4 . The foldable blade  2  also includes a main cutting edge or scraper  8  at a bottom portion of the main body portion  4  and the opposing side foldable wing portions  6 . A stiffener bar  10  is provided at an opposing top portion of the main blade portion  4 . A face  12  of the foldable blade  2  is preferably a concave shape.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 shows a rear view of the foldable blade  2 . In this view, a side plate  18  is shown fixed to the foldable wing portions  6  and a hitch mechanism  20  is shown mounted on the rear portion of the main body portion  4 . A locking mechanism is also shown on the rear side of the foldable blade  2  between each of the foldable wing portions  6  and the main body portion  4 . The locking mechanism includes a first locking assembly generally depicted as reference numeral  14  and a second locking assembly generally depicted as reference numeral  16 . The first locking assembly  14  is located near a top portion of the foldable blade  2  between the foldable wing portion  6  and the main body portion  4 . The second locking assembly  16  is located near a bottom portion of the foldable blade  2  also between the foldable wing portion  6  and the main body portion  4 .  
         [0021]    It should be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that the first locking assembly  14  and the second locking assembly  16  may also be located at other positions between the main body portion  4  and the foldable wing portion  6 . For example, the first locking assembly  14  may be located at the bottom portion of the main body portion  4  and the foldable wing portion  6 . Also, the use of a single foldable wing portion  6  on either side of the main body portion  4  is contemplated by the present invention. In such case, it is only necessary to provide one locking mechanism, i.e., one each of the first and second locking assemblies.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 shows a first embodiment of the locking mechanism of the foldable blade  2 . In FIG. 3, the first locking assembly  14  of the locking mechanism is shown to include a top plate  22  and a bottom plate  24  fixed to the main body portion  4  of the foldable blade  2 . Both the top plate  22  and the bottom plate  24  include extended portions (ears)  22   a  and  24   a , respectively. The first locking assembly  14  also includes an intermediate plate  26  fixed to the foldable wing portion  6  between the top plate  22  and the bottom plate  24 . The top plate  22  and the bottom plate  24  each have respectively aligned apertures  28   a ,  28   b  and  28   c , where the aligned apertures  28   c  preferably extend through the ears  22   a  and  24   a . The intermediate plate  26  also includes apertures  30   a ,  30   b  and  30   c  which will align with the apertures  28   a ,  28   b  and  28   c . (Aperture  30   b  of the intermediate plate  26  is shown more clearly in FIG. 5.)  
         [0023]    A plate guide  32  having an elongated slot  34  is fixed to the foldable wing portion  6 . The shape of the plate guide  32  is preferably curved such that the elongated slot  34  is aligned with the apertures  28   a  of the top plate  22  and the bottom plate  24  and the aperture  30   a  of the intermediate plate  26 . A first pin  36  is positioned within the aligned apertures  28   a  and  30   a  and extends through the top plate  22 , the bottom plate  24  and the intermediate plate  26 . The first pin  36  also extends into the elongated slot  34  of the plate guide  32 . A bearing  38  may be positioned about the aperture  30   a  of the intermediate plate  26 . In the first locked position, a second pin  40  is inserted through the apertures  28   b  and  30   b  thus extending through the top plate  22 , the bottom plate  24  and the intermediate plate  26 .  
         [0024]    Still referring to FIG. 3, the second locking assembly  16  of the locking mechanism includes a recess portion  42  mounted at a bottom portion of the main body portion  4 . The recess portion  42  includes an aperture  44  located therethrough. A lock bar  46  is mounted to a bottom portion of the foldable wing portion  6  and is aligned with and engages the recess portion  42  when in a locked position. The lock bar  46  also includes an aperture  48  (FIG. 4) which is in alignment with the aperture  44  of the recess portion  42 . A third pin  50  is inserted through the apertures  44  and  48 .  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 4 shows the foldable wing portion  6  in an extended position and the locking assemblies  14  and  16  in an unlocked state. In the unlocked state, the second pin  40  is disengaged from the aligned apertures  28   b  and  30   b , and the third pin  50  is disengaged from the apertures  44  and  48 . The lock bar  46  is also removed from the recess  42 . The elongated slot  34  of the plate guide  32  is translated to a second position with respect to the first pin  36 .  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 5 shows the first locking assembly  14  and the second locking assembly  16  in a locked second position. In this locked second position, the foldable wing portion  6  is in a retracted or folded position behind the face  12  of the foldable blade  2 . Also, the apertures  28   c  located in the respective ears  22   a  and  24   a  of the top plate  22  and the bottom plate  24  are aligned with the aperture  30   c  of the intermediate plate  26 . A locking pin  52  is inserted through the apertures  28   c  and  30   c . The second pin  40  may be placed through the aligned apertures  28   b  of the top plate  22  and the bottom plate  24 , while the entire foldable wing portion  6  is rotatable about the first pin  36 . The third pin  50  may be placed through the aperture  44  and extended through the recess portion  42 .  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the locking mechanism of the present invention. In this embodiment, the first locking assembly  14  is the same as the first locking assembly  14  of FIGS.  3 - 5  and a discussion herein is thus omitted. The second locking assembly  16  includes the recess portion  42  and the lock bar  46 . A bolt hole  54  extends longitudinally through the lock bar  46  and is aligned with a bolt hole  56  located at a remote end of the recess portion  42 . In the locked position of FIG. 6, the lock bar  46  extends into the recess and a bolt (or pin)  58  extends through the bolt hole  54  of the lock bar  46  and into the bolt hole  56  of the recess portion  42 .  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 7 shows the foldable wing portion  6  in an extended position. Much like the extended position shown in FIG. 4, the second pin  40  is disengaged from the apertures  28   b  and  30   b  of the first locking assembly  14 , and the elongated slot  34  of the plate guide  32  is translated to a second position with respect to the first pin  36 . In this embodiment, the bolt  58  is disengaged from the bolt hole  56  and the lock bar  46  is also removed from the recess portion  42 .  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 8 shows the locking mechanism of the second embodiment in a locked second position. In this locked second position, the foldable wing portion  6  is in a retracted or folded position behind the face  12  of the foldable blade  2 . The apertures  28   c  located on the respective ears  22   a  and  24   a  are aligned with the aperture  30   c  of the intermediate plate  26 . The locking pin  52  is inserted through the apertures  28   c  and  30   c . The second pin  40  may be placed through the aligned apertures  28   b  of the top plate  22  and the bottom plate  24 . Also, the bolt  58  remains within the bolt hole  54  of the lock bar  46 .  
         [0030]    Industrial Applicability  
         [0031]    In operation, the foldable blade  2  includes foldable wing portions  6  which are capable of being retracted to a folded position for transportation of the machine and unfolded for use in scraping, pushing and transporting earth. In the unfolded position, the locking assemblies  14  and  16  are locked into a first position.  
         [0032]    Specifically, apertures  28   b  of the top plate  22  and the bottom plate  24  as well as the aperture  30   b  of the intermediate plate  26  are aligned with one another. Also, a portion of the lock bar  46  is inserted within the recess portion  42  such that the aperture  44  of the recess portion  42  and the aperture  48  of the lock bar  46  are aligned with one another. To lock the foldable wing portions  6  in the unfolded position, the second pin  40  is inserted through the apertures  28   b  and  30   b  and the third pin  50  is inserted through the apertures  44  and  48 . In another embodiment, the bolt  58  may be bolted between the recess portion  42  and the lock bar  46 .  
         [0033]    To unlock and fold the foldable wing portions  6 , the second pin  40  is removed from the apertures  28   b  and  30   b  and the third pin  50  is removed from the apertures  44  and  48 . The wing portions  6  are then extended outward such that the elongated slot  32  is translated with respect to the first pin  36 . In this manner, a portion of the lock bar  46  is removed from the recess portion  42 . The foldable wing portions  6  are then rotated about the first pin  36  until the aperture  30   c  of the intermediate plate  26  is aligned with the apertures  28   c  of the top plate  22  and the bottom plate  24  (located on the respective ears  22   a  and  24   a ). The locking pin  52  is then inserted through the apertures  28   c  and  30   c  in order to lock the foldable wing portions  6  behind the main body portion  4  of the foldable blade  2 . The second pin  40  may be placed within the apertures  28   b  and the third pin  50  may be placed in aperture  44  for storage.  
         [0034]    Other aspects and features of the present invention can be obtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.