Patent Publication Number: US-4731942-A

Title: Dozer blade

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to blades for dozing materials and more particularly to blades designed to plow snow. 
     Dozer blades are well known in the art, and many have been particularly adapted to push, or plow, snow. In most situations, snow plows and the like are utilized in a commercial sense by various governmental bodies or private entrepreneurs. In either event, a high priority, in addition to effective clearing of the snow, is to reduce the costs involved in operating the plowing device. Thus, many attachment-type arrangements have been developed for multi-use vehicles. When the plowing vehicle is a large truck or the like, the efficient action of a snow plow on a surface is not as important as when a smaller vehicle, such as a jeep-type vehicle, is being utilized. The smaller vehicles do not have as much power as the larger trucks, nor do they have comparable structural integrity that can withstand high vibration and the like. Heretofore, adequate attachment-type dozer blades for such smaller vehicles have not been known. 
     It is desirable to be able to operate the plowing vehicle at relatively high speeds and with a minimum number of sweeps through an area to clear it adequately. Thus, it is important for the blade design to facilitate snow removal while at the same time being durable to withstand high speed movement across roadbeds. As discussed above, efficient designs are further used to reduce the energy required to doze the snow, which is particularly important in commercial plowing operations. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The principal objects of the invention are: to provide a dozer blade for moving materials; to provide such a blade which is especially useful for plowing snow; to provide such a blade which has a straight line scraper along a bottom portion and an upper winged pointed formation for facilitating discharge of the snow; to provide such a blade which has a central divider for directing snow to both sides of the blade; to provide such a blade which converges forwardly and toward a center of said blade such that the blade top portion is generally situated forwardly of the blade scraper portion when the blade is in an operative position; to provide such a blade which exhibits a stable, energy efficient design; to provide such a blade which is relatively easy to use, economical to manufacture, and particularly well adapted for the proposed usage thereof. 
     Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A dozer blade as shown herein preferably includes two curved &#34;mirror image&#34; blade sections that are joined along a central juncture at respective inner ends thereof. The blade sections are joined to form a unitary blade exhibiting a concave surface for scraping and removal of snow and the like. The blade sections converge forwardly toward the central juncture, resulting in a top portion of the central juncture being positioned forwardly of a bottom portion thereof. Additionally, the top portion of the central juncture is generally positioned lower than outer ends of respective top portions of the blade sections, presenting a V-shaped, or winged, formation when viewed from the front. A central divider or rib is attached to the blade along the central juncture from a bottom scraping portion of the blade sections to the top. The divider generally serves to distribute material being dozed equally to either side. The forward winged formation of the blade sections, together with the divider, tend to remove snow and other materials to be dozed in an efficient manner. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the divider can be made to be removable to allow for angling of the dozer blade. 
     Preferably, and contemporaneously with the converging curvature of the blade sections, a straight line bottom scraper is angled so that it has the ability to dig into the subject grading surface without additional downward pressure. 
     The stable design of the present system reduces the stress on the vehicle, thus reducing the size of vehicle necessary to move relative amounts of snow and other materials. It has been found that the present design efficiently lifts snow and discharges it laterally from both sides, this keeps snow from rolling or piling up in front of the blade, which would cause additional stress on the vehicle and decrease the vehicle stability. In short, the present blade has exhibited the ability to plow through deeper snow with lower energy requirements. The forwardly projecting center board divider and outwardly deflected blade sections encourage snow to be released out of the top corner of the opposed blade sections, which facilitates maximum throwing distance of the snow to clear the pathway better. 
     The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dozer blade according to the present invention, showing the blade mounted on a plowing vehicle. 
     FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the dozer blade. 
     FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of the dozer blade and associated means for connecting the blade to the plowing vehicle. 
     FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the dozer blade and connection means. 
     FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the dozer blade and connection means, showing both on a reduced scale. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. 
     Referring in more detail to the figures, reference numeral 1 depicts a dozer blade apparatus according to the present invention. The dozer blade 1 is operatively connected to a plowing vehicle 3 by connection means 5. 
     The dozer blade 1 includes a body having a first blade section 7 and a second blade section 8. The first and second blade sections 7 and 8 have respective first and second inner ends 10 and 11 and respective and first and second outer ends 12 and 13. Further, each blade section 7 and 8 has a respective top portion 15 and 16 and bottom portions 17 and 18. 
     The first and second blade section inner ends 10 and 11 are joined along a central juncture 20 to form a unitary blade. Specifically, the first and second blade sections 7 and 8 are preferably welded along the central juncture 20. A central divider 25 is welded to the dozer blade 1 along the central juncture 20, as seen in profile in FIG. 3. If desired, the central divider 25 can be removably connected to the dozer blade 1, to allow for possible angling of the dozer blade 1 for specific operations. 
     The first and second blade sections 7 and 8 have respective front surfaces 27 and 28 and rear surfaces 29 and 30. As used herein, &#34;front&#34; refers to the surface that faces away from the plowing vehicle 3, when the dozer blade 1 is in an operative position thereon. Consequently, the term &#34;rear&#34; refers to the surface that faces toward the plowing vehicle 3. 
     First and second straight line scrapers 37 and 38 are removably attached to the first and second blade section bottom portions 17 and 18, respectively. The removable scrapers 37 and 38 are periodically replaced as they wear down during use. 
     The first and second blade sections 7 and 8 are generally formed to be mirror images of one another, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4. Each blade section 7 and 8 is curved from the respective bottom portions 17 and 18 to the top portions 15 and 16, such that the front surfaces 27 and 28 are generally concave and the rear surfaces 29 and 30 are generally convex. 
     In order to facilitate discharge of the plowed material, the blade section top portions 15 and 16 are formed to present a V-shaped, or winged, pointed formation, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4. The winged outline results from a convergence of the respective blade sections 7 and 8 downwardly and forwardly as they approach the central juncture 20. As a result of this convergence, a top point 40 of the central juncture 20 is positioned forwardly of a bottom point 42 of the central juncture 20 when the blade 1 is in an operative position on the plowing vehicle 3. The divider 25 extends between the central juncture top point 40 and bottom point 42 and defining a chord 44 therebetween. Thus, as seen in FIG. 3, the central divider is of an irregular semi-oval shape conforming to the front surface of the central juncture 20. 
     The forwardly projecting central divider 25 and the outwardly deflected blade sections 7 and 8 facilitate division and discharge of the plowed material. In use, it has been seen that snow is generally discharged straight out of the top corner of the respective blade section outer ends 12 and 13. 
     The connection means illustrated herein include a pair of elongate longitudinal frame members 47, which terminate in a rearward pivot member 48 positioned transverse to the frame members 47. A forward end of each longitudinal frame member 47 is attached to a reinforcing member 50, which is attached to and runs along the blade section first and second bottom portions 17 and 18. 
     For further support of the blade 1, an upper bracing apparatus 52 is provided, together with a pair of supporting gussets 53. The bracing apparatus extends upwardly from the longitudinal members 47, and opposed extension members 55 are attached to respective rear surfaces 29 and 30 of the first and second blade sections 7 and 8. 
     The connection means are adapted for pivotal connection to the plowing vehicle 3. As illustrated herein, the rearward pivot member 48 is connected to an appropriate apparatus (not shown) on the plowing vehicle 3, at a rearward position along the bottom part of the chassis. The bracing apparatus 52 is connected to a winch or the like (not shown) attached to the plowing vehicle 3, as is well known in the art. The winch is used to actuate the bracing apparatus 52 and consequently the dozer blade 1 about an axis defined by the pivot member 48. In this manner, the dozer blade 1 can be elevated during transport from plowing area to plowing area. 
     It is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown.