Importance

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Abstract

A plow assembly for vehicles such as pickup trucks and tractors for moving snow or other materials, as well as for bulldozers, graders and the like for excavating and grading dirt, sand, gravel or other plowable materials, has at least one extendable, forwardly pivotable plow wing which is extendable on one end of a main plow by sliding movement along the rear of the plow between a retracted and an extended position in which the plow wing is generally aligned with the plow front surface. The plow wing is also pivotally mounted on a hinge for movement between the extended position and a forwardly angled position in which the plow wing front surface extends at an angle to the plow front surface. At least one actuator, such as an hydraulic fluid power cylinder, is connected to the plow wing to move the wing between the retracted, extended and forwardly angled positions. In a preferred embodiment, an extendable plow wing is included on each end of the main plow with at least one actuator connected to each of the respective plow wings. Optionally, each plow wing may be movable via a pair of actuators, whereby the actuators in each respective pair are operable independently of one another to move the plow wings independently between their respective retracted, extended and forwardly angled positions. When both plow wings are pivoted to their forwardly angled positions, the plow assembly has a general U-shape which facilitates pushing snow, dirt, sand or other plowable material without the material slipping off the plow blade ends. The main plow may include a section formed from polymeric sheet material for weight reduction. Because the plow wings are movable along the rear surface of the plow, the front surface of the plow provides a substantially continuous, uninterrupted surface for moving the plowed material therealong.

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First Claim