The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 15, 1998
Filed:
Jan. 06, 1997
John R Behrens, West Bend, WI (US);
James R Doornek, Mequon, WI (US);
Gerald E Lutzke, Sheboygan, WI (US);
Douglas Dynamics, L.L.C., Milwaukee, WI (US);
Abstract
A snowplow (20) adapted for being attached or detached from a vehicle (22) having a frame (24). The snowplow includes a mount frame (26) for connection to the vehicle frame, a support frame (32), a lift assembly (38) and a blade assembly. The blade assembly includes a blade (30), a blade cutting edge (31) and a wheel support assembly (56). The support frame includes a forward end (33) for supporting the blade and a rearward end (36) for connection to the vehicle. When detached from the vehicle as a single unit, the resultant weight on the rearward end of the support frame is supported on a ground surface (46) by a jack stand (48). The wheel support assembly is mounted adjacent to or slightly ahead of a center of gravity (58). The wheel support assembly includes a yoke assembly (60) having a pair of sides (62) for supporting a wheel (57), a biased spring (80) mounted onto a stud (76) for allowing the yoke assembly to rotate from an upward inoperative position to a downward load support position, a handle (64), a support plate (65) and a bracket assembly (90) for mounting the wheel assembly to the snowplow. An advantage of this invention is that nearly all of the weight of the snowplow is supported by the wheel support assembly when the snowplow is detached from the vehicle. This allows even the smallest of operators to be able to easily maneuver the snowplow in any direction around a storage area with no additional assistance being required to attach the snowplow to the vehicle.