Abstract:
The present invention is a lightweight, one-person-operating plow designed to remove new-fallen or otherwise soft snow or slush. It is inexpensive to manufacture, ship, market, and purchase. Its two units can be assembled and connected to any kind of vehicle in less than one minute. Disconnection and disassembly can be effected in like time. It can remove virtually all of the snow from the path being cleared very quickly; for example, a 100-foot driveway can be cleared in about fifteen seconds, and a 50-foot driveway in half that time. Very little physical effort by the user is required, and no damage is caused to the surface being plowed.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    Not applicable  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    a. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The invention relates to devices for removing snow from driveways; from streets, roads, highways, etc. (hereinafter for simplicity called “roadways”); from all or parts of parking lots; and from sidewalks and other walkways.  
           [0004]    b. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0005]    Most plows for the removal of snow are mounted on the front of a vehicle. However, snowplows made for attachment to the front of vehicles are very heavy and require much bracket hardware and other complex hardware for controlling and stabilizing purposes. Their weight and rigidity often cause damage to roadway surfaces, curbs, and imbedded reflectors in fog-prone areas. Such plows are also very expensive—too much so for the individual householder, the small-business person, and the teenager seeking after-school or weekend jobs. Such plows are difficult to assemble, difficult to attach to vehicles, and, when not needed out of season, difficult to detach and to store. Further, such plows are not suited for attaching to ordinary automobiles or other relatively lightweight vehicles, requiring instead some kind of heavy-duty truck.  
           [0006]    Modern vehicles are able to travel without difficulty over new-fallen snow, otherwise still-soft snow, or slush several inches deep, even without such enhancing equipment as all-weather tires, four-wheel drive, limited-slip differential, etc. Therefore, if a vehicle can drive over a snow-laden path, a towed plow is practicable.  
           [0007]    A number of plows have been designed for attaching to the rear of vehicles. However, they suffer many limitations and disadvantages.  
           [0008]    Two of these devices, for example, under U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,800,447 to Harvey and 4,907,357 to Lilienthal are designed not for general removal of snow from a path, but merely to remove snow from a close to a wall or garage door where the vehicle&#39;s front-mounted plow cannot reach.  
           [0009]    In another example, a grading device under U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,343, to Sheldon, intended for grading or snow removal, is to be attached to a towing hitch. Most vehicles are not equipped with or suited for towing hitches. Further, among other disadvantages, the device has no provision for stability in relation to the rear of the vehicle. Differential resistance of snow or some small object encountered on the left side of the device, looking forward, would cause the chain on the right side to collapse and destroy the plow&#39;s ability to properly deposit the snow.  
           [0010]    Still other devices, such as that under U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,403,432 and 5,595,007 to Biance, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,930,922 and 6,151,809 to Altheide require much hardware to control the lifting and aiming of their devices. Such devices are very heavy, probably requiring handling by more than one person, they are time consuming to assemble and attach to a vehicle, they incur great expense, and they require a large space for storage.  
           [0011]    What is needed and not provided in the prior art is a plow that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and sell; that is compact for shipping, transporting, and storing; that is lightweight enough to be handled by one person, adult or teenager; that can be easily and quickly assembled and disassembled; that can be easily and quickly attached to and detached from a vehicle;; that does not require cumbersome and unsightly hardware on the towing vehicle; that is simple and efficient to operate; that is stable in use; that is adjustable in width; that can deposit snow to either or both sides of the path being plowed; that requires very little propulsive power; that can overcome unusual or unexpected minor obstructions in the path being plowed; that is durable; and that will rarely, if ever, need repair.  
           [0012]    The present invention addresses all of the limitations and problems found in the prior art, and it is designed to fulfill all of the criteria listed in the preceding paragraph.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    The present invention is a device for the removal of new-fallen snow, otherwise still-soft snow, or slush from driveways, roadways, all or parts of parking lots, and from sidewalks and other walkways. (Since the object of plowing is to remove snow as soon as possible, virtually all snow to be removed is new-fallen or, at least, still soft.) This invention is simple, inexpensive, effective, lightweight, easily and quickly assembled and disassembled, easily and quickly attached to and detached from any kind of vehicle (with no cumbersome or unsightly hardware on the vehicle), compact, adjustable in width, adjustable in the direction of the snow deposit (right or left side), operable with very little propulsive power, and not defeated by minor obstructions in the path being plowed.  
           [0014]    Shortly after or during a snowstorm, people begin to remove snow with a shovel or a powered snow thrower, or engage vehicles with conventional plows to remove of snow from driveways, roadways, parking lots, and walkways.  
           [0015]    Shoveling snow is burdensome, time-consuming, and often dangerous to health and even life.  
           [0016]    As pointed out in Consumer Reports magazine (October 1997, page 30), “Though faster and less physically taxing than shoveling snow, using a snow thrower isn&#39;t effortless or without its annoyances. It demands some awkward maneuvering of a heavy machine. And a snow thrower is costly. Expect to pay $300 to well over $1000, along with the ongoing costs of fuel, oil, and servicing. You&#39;ll also need a sizable space in which to store it.” Further, snow throwers are not without their dangers; hospitals have reported quite a few cases each winter of fingers lost to snow throwers.  
           [0017]    Vehicles engaged to remove snow are heavyweight vehicles with heavy plows attached, they are expensive to hire, they often cause damage to surfaces being plowed, they require much fuel for their operation, and consequently they cause much pollution of the air.  
           [0018]    An object of the present invention is to contribute to conservation of the environment by providing a plow that (1) uses a minimum of material, (2) is lightweight, (3) requires very little propulsive power, (4) can be pulled by any motorized vehicle, (5) uses very little fuel for vehicle operation, and (6) causes a minimum of air pollution.  
           [0019]    Another object of the present invention is to provide an effective, yet inexpensive way for users to remove large quantities of snow quickly, with very little physical effort, and with virtually no expense. Even if it were desirable to hire the removal of snow, engaging someone using a plow of the present design (possibly a teenager with a license to drive) would undoubtedly cost less than engaging someone using a conventional heavy-duty plow.  
           [0020]    Another object of the present invention is saving the health and lives of many people each winter. Shoveling snow causes back strain in some people and heart strain in others. Still others suffer injuries from falling. Each year hospitals treat people who have had fingers cut off by snow throwers, as mentioned above. In spite of warnings, each winter many people attempt to clear snow from driveways and they die from the attempt, reportedly not only from the physical effort to push and lift snow, but also from breathing problems in the harsh weather conditions.  
           [0021]    Another object of the present invention is to reduce the amount of time the user needs for clearing snow, and to reduce the user&#39;s period of exposure to the elements.  
           [0022]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a means of removal of snow without resort to the use of salt, calcium chloride, or other substances that can be detrimental to the environment and harmful to automobile bodies.  
           [0023]    Still another object of the invention is to provide a safe, cleared path for walking between the house and the front of the property for, say, reaching a curbside mailbox, moving trash for curbside pickup, or any pedestrian or bicycling purpose.  
           [0024]    The present invention, after a minute or less to attach the lightweight plow to a vehicle, can clear great quantities of snow in a matter of seconds, without physical effort or breathing problems in cold and often windy conditions. The residence-size plow is light enough, under thirty pounds (less than fifteen pounds for each blade unit), that it can be easily handled by one adult or teenager. The larger sized plow of this invention, designed to clear even wider paths, is still light enough that it can handled by one adult of average strength. A small version of the plow is designed to clear long sidewalks and other walks, and it can be pulled easily by a farm tractor (or even by a lawn tractor or ride mower for snowfall up to about four inches, and higher levels of snow if the mower deck is removed for clearance).  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0025]    [0025]FIG. 1 is a top view of the snowplow set to deposit snow on both sides of the path being plowed.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 2 is a side view of the snowplow.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 3 illustrates a lift-off (and thus “drop-in”) quick-connect hinge, which is just one of several possible means of connecting the two blade units to form the front end of the plow.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 4 shows a top view of the snowplow set to deposit snow primarily on the right side (facing forward) of the path being plowed. (A corresponding arrangement, not here illustrated, deposits snow on the left side.) 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0029]    The present invention is a snowplow whose blades are made of lightweight material such as, but not limited to 1 , plastic (PVC, vinyl, acrylic, etc.), fiberglass, composite material (such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic, which is one of thousands of available kinds of composites), aluminum, or other lightweight metal. Under ordinary use, these blades will leave little snow after plowing, and will be very durable. However, for even cleaner snow removal, optional strips of material, such as tough, but pliable, rubber or plastic (not illustrated in the drawings) may be attached to the blades&#39; contact edge, which meets the surface being plowed. In very-frequent-use situations, optional metal wear strips may be attached to the lower, or contact, edge of the plow&#39;s blades.  
         [0030]    The plow consists of two blade units that can be fit together and connected to a towing vehicle in less than one minute. It can be disconnected and disassembled in like time.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 1 is a top view of the plow showing two struts  1 , which are attached to the concave faces  2  of the plow blades  3  by any one of several available connection means, such as a bolt snap or snap hook  4 , on the strut and an eye-bolt  5   a  on the blade. (The struts normally remain attached to the plow blades, but are removable for the purpose of repositioning to direct the deposit of snow, as will be explained below under FIG. 4.) The other ends, or loose ends, of the struts  1  are attached by a connection means (such as bolt snaps or snap hooks  6  on the struts) fastened to connection points  7 , such as small drilled holes or small eye-bolts at the underside edge of the towing vehicle&#39;s bumper or tough plastic bumper cover  8  (hereinafter for simplicity called “bumper”), or other convenient location on the vehicle.  
         [0032]    In this embodiment, these struts  1  are of equal length, set at equivalent points on the two blades  3 , in order to deposit snow equally on both sides of the path being plowed. The struts are rigid in order to stabilize the plow, not allowing it to sway to one side or the other when subjected to differential resistance on the two faces  2  of the plow blades  3 —unlike earlier versions of plows connected to a towing vehicle at one point (often to a trailer hitch) or connected to the towing vehicle by a flexible and/or collapsible means, such as a chain or rope.  
         [0033]    The front faces  2  of the plow blades  3  are concave (and the rear faces  9  are, of course, convex). The blades are tilted slightly backward so that snow presses down on its way to disposal, thereby helping to keep the plow hugging the surface of the path being plowed, and avoiding the necessity to use heavy materials.  
         [0034]    A connection means, such as a lift-off (and thus “drop-in”) quick-connect hinge  10 , connects the front ends of the two blade units, which are flattened and trimmed to receive the hinges. Convenient handhold means  11  are provided in or on the blade units to ease lifting and manipulating them.  
         [0035]    A transverse element  12  “inside” the plow is connected to one blade (in this illustration the right blade) by a connection means  13 . It is attached for plowing to the other blade by another connection means  15 , such as a bolt snap or snap hook, on the loose end of the transverse element, hooked to an element  14   a,  such as an eye-bolt or screw-eye. The transverse element  12  serves two functions: it helps to stabilize the plow, and it is a telescoping bar used to set the plow blades to the width of the path desired. (A less expensive alternative to the telescoping bar for setting the width of the path desired would be a fixed-length crossbar attached to one of several elements  14   a,    14   b,    14   c,  or  14   d,  such as eye-bolts or screw-eyes affixed along the length of the left blade; the closer to the front point of the plow, the wider the plowed path would be.)  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 2 is a side view of the plow showing one of the two struts  1 , which is attached to the face  2  of the plow&#39;s right-side blade  3  by any one of several available connection means, as explained above under FIG. 1 (first paragraph). The other end, or loose end, of the strut  1  is attached to a connection point  7  (for example, a small drilled hole or a small eye-bolt) at the underside edge of the vehicle&#39;s bumper  8 , or other convenient location on the vehicle, by a connecting means  6 , such as a bolt snap or snap hook, on the strut.  
         [0037]    The forward ends of the blades  3  (constituting the front point of the plow) are cut away at the bottom in a small arc or angle  16 , the purpose of which, along with other elements, is to help the plow bounce over any bump or small obstruction that may be in its path. (See below, paragraph 0042.)  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 3 illustrates a lift-off (and thus “drop-in”) quick-connect hinge  10 , which is just one of several possible means of connecting the two blade units  3  to form the front end of the plow.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 4 is a top view of the plow with the plow set at a narrow width and the left strut  1  attached to an element  5   b,  such as an eye-bolt or screw-eye, near the front of the left blade  3 , in order to orient the plow for deposit of the bulk of the snow on the right side of the path being plowed. (Repositioning the right strut, instead of the left strut, would cause the bulk of the snow to be deposited on the left side of the path, of course.) In another embodiment, instead of repositioning one of the fixed struts, the same effect is accomplished by the use of optional, but more expensive, telescoping struts to reorient the plow by extending the length of one of the struts.  
         [0040]    In operation, the user assembles the plow in a matter of seconds by making two connections. The user connects the leading ends of the right and left blade units to each other by attaching one part of a quick-connect device installed on one blade  3  to its corresponding part on the other blade  3 , such as a lift-off (and thus “drop-in”) hinge  10  in this illustration. The user then connects the loose end of the crossbar  12  to an element  14   a,  such as an eye-bolt or screw-eye, on the left blade, as described above in paragraph 0033. Then, in a matter of a few more seconds, the user connects the loose ends of the struts  1  to the underside edge of the towing vehicle&#39;s bumper  8  or other convenient location, as described above under FIG. 1. When not in use, these bumper connection means do not leave unsightly hardware equipment on the vehicle to impair its attractiveness, as in the prior art in many instances.  
         [0041]    After assembling the two units of the plow and connecting it to the towing vehicle, the vehicle slowly advances over the path to be cleared. A one-hundred-foot-long driveway, for example, is cleared of virtually all snow in about fifteen seconds; a fifty-foot-long driveway in half that time. It&#39;s that quick and easy. Sometimes, depending on the kind of snowfall, a small amount of surface snow (no more than the amount left by conventional plowing equipment), and the narrow tracks of the tires are all that may remain in the path plowed. Any such residue is usually eliminated soon by melting, evaporation, or sublimation between storms, but in any event, no difficulty remains for the passage of vehicles over the plowed path.  
         [0042]    In the case of multiple plowings, such as when snow drifts, or when a blizzard of, say, fifteen or twenty inches of snow is predicted, or in an area of frequent snow storms, the user may wish to plow a wide path the first time, say nine feet wide in a driveway. For a second pass, after another accumulation of snow, an eight-foot path could be plowed within the first nine-foot path. A third or fourth pass, if necessary, can be made by simply narrowing the width of the plow. Since automobiles and station wagons in general need only a five-foot track width (pick-up trucks and some sport utility vehicles slightly more), this example gives ample opportunity to keep a drive path clear of snow for passing through. In most areas, normal sunshine and warm periods of the day will serve to eliminate or lessen the accumulation of snow between storms.  
         [0043]    In some circumstances it may be more desirable to deposit the bulk of the snow to one side of the path. This can be accomplished by orienting the plow as described above under FIG. 4. The path plowed will be narrower in this case, but still wide enough. A second pass for greater width can be made, if desired.  
         [0044]    Because of the plow&#39;s light weight, the angle at which the blades move forward, the front point  16  (in FIG. 2) of the plow curved or angled in relation to the surface, and the small amount of “play” in the connections, the plow will not cause damage to surfaces plowed or to curbing, and it will easily bounce over any small bumps or minor obstructions in its path, such as the reflectors imbedded in many roads in fog-prone areas—without damage to the objects or the plow. (Such reflectors, in this example, are often damaged or dislodged by conventional plows, requiring labor to install displaced, new, or repaired reflectors.)  
         [0045]    To aid in the dispersal of snow, the blades of the plow may be coated with a lubricant such as silicone spray, but this is not really necessary.  
         [0046]    Upon completion of plowing, the user disconnects the plow from the vehicle and separates one unit of the plow from the other (in less than one minute), nests one unit of the plow into the other, and stores it horizontally or vertically in a relatively small space.