Inexpensive lightweight single-blade snowplow

Abstract

A lightweight, adjustable snowplow, able to be lifted, carried, and manipulated by one person, adult or teenager, of normal strength, designed to remove new-fallen or otherwise soft snow or slush. It has a minimum number of parts. A plurality of struts attaches the plow to any kind of towing vehicle, providing horizontal and vertical stability. No brackets, hitches, or lifting devices are needed on the towing vehicle.

1 . A single-blade snowplow for removing snow or slush from driveways, roadways, parking lots, biking-hiking trails, and walkways, comprising: 
 a. an arcuate blade, concave on the front side facing a towing vehicle and convex on the back side of the blade, having a plurality of means of connection on said blade,    b. a plurality of struts of various lengths with means of attachment at both ends.    
     
     
         2 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein said means of attachment on the ends of said struts are attached to said means of connection on the blade and to a plurality of means of connection on the vehicle rather loosely, whereby sufficient play is introduced to help the snowplow rise over small obstructions.  
     
     
         3 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein the design of said means of attachment on said struts and on said plurality of means of connection on the towing vehicle are such that said snowplow can be attached or detached from the vehicle in less than one minute.  
     
     
         4 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein the ends of said blade are beveled at the bottom of said blade, whereby said snowplow will rise over any small obstruction in its path.  
     
     
         5 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein said blade of a vehicle-drawn snowplow is made of lightweight polyvinyl chloride or other lightweight material.  
     
     
         6 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein the materials used are of sufficiently light weight that the snowplow will rise over any small obstruction in its path.  
     
     
         7 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein the materials used are of sufficiently light weight that the entire snowplow apparatus can be lifted and maneuvered by an adult or a teenager.  
     
     
         8 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein said blade contains a plurality of handholds, whereby said blade can be gripped and the entire snowplow apparatus can be lifted and maneuvered by an adult or a teenager.  
     
     
         9 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein the materials used are of sufficiently light weight that the snowplow can be towed with very little propulsive power.  
     
     
         10 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein the top of said blade is tilted backward in relation to the towing vehicle, whereby the snow on its way to disposal will temporarily add additional weight to said snowplow and help said snowplow hug the surface being plowed.  
     
     
         11 . The snowplow of  claim 1 , further including a strip of tough, but flexible, material on the bottom of said blade, not illustrated in the drawings, whereby cleaner removal of the plowed matter is achieved.  
     
     
         12 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein said struts are rigid, whereby said snowplow has lateral stability.  
     
     
         13 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein said struts are rigid and attached to a plurality of means of connection on the top and bottom of the blade, whereby said snowplow has vertical stability.  
     
     
         14 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein a plurality of sets of outer struts, different in length from one another, are provided, whereby different orientations of said blade provide different widths of plowed path.  
     
     
         15 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein said struts of fixed length can be attached to any of a plurality of means of connection along the length of said blade, whereby said blade is repositioned and the repositioning orients the snowplow for plowing to the right or left.  
     
     
         16 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein, in a another embodiment, not illustrated in the drawings, said struts are composed of two submembers, one sliding within the other, which has aligning holes at suitable intervals to receive a spring-activated stub, which can automatically lock the two submembers into a variety of fixed lengths, and which can be shortened or lengthened, whereby said blade is positioned to orient said blade for plowing to either the right or the left, as the fixed-length struts in a previous embodiment have, but without the necessity of reattaching said adjustable struts to other means of connection.  
     
     
         17 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein, in a another embodiment, not illustrated in the drawings, said struts are composed of two submembers, one sliding within the other, which has aligning holes at suitable intervals to receive a spring-activated stub, which can automatically lock the two submembers into a variety of fixed lengths, and which can be shortened or lengthened, whereby said blade is positioned for plowing different widths of path, as the fixed-length struts in a previous embodiment have, but without the necessity of substituting a different set of struts.  
     
     
         18 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein said snowplow is attached to said towing vehicle without the need for trailer hitches, brackets, or other special hardware on said towing vehicle.  
     
     
         19 . The snowplow of  claim 1  wherein the top corners of said blade are rounded, whereby accidental contact with the user's body is less painful or injurious.  
     
     
         20 . The unique combination, construction, and configuration of said blade, said struts, said tough but flexible strip of material, said beveling of the bottom ends of said blade, said rounding of the top ends of said blade, said handholds, said tilt of the blade, said means of attachment, and said means of connection into an effective snowplow, all as explained and specified above.