CA1161462A - Snow blower with wings - Google Patents
Snow blower with wingsInfo
- Publication number
- CA1161462A CA1161462A CA000390535A CA390535A CA1161462A CA 1161462 A CA1161462 A CA 1161462A CA 000390535 A CA000390535 A CA 000390535A CA 390535 A CA390535 A CA 390535A CA 1161462 A CA1161462 A CA 1161462A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- wing
- snow
- housing
- blower
- end loader
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
- E01H—STREET CLEANING; CLEANING OF PERMANENT WAYS; CLEANING BEACHES; DISPERSING OR PREVENTING FOG IN GENERAL CLEANING STREET OR RAILWAY FURNITURE OR TUNNEL WALLS
- E01H5/00—Removing snow or ice from roads or like surfaces; Grading or roughening snow or ice
- E01H5/04—Apparatus propelled by animal or engine power; Apparatus propelled by hand with driven dislodging or conveying levelling elements, conveying pneumatically for the dislodged material
- E01H5/06—Apparatus propelled by animal or engine power; Apparatus propelled by hand with driven dislodging or conveying levelling elements, conveying pneumatically for the dislodged material dislodging essentially by non-driven elements, e.g. scraper blades, snow-plough blades, scoop blades
- E01H5/07—Apparatus propelled by animal or engine power; Apparatus propelled by hand with driven dislodging or conveying levelling elements, conveying pneumatically for the dislodged material dislodging essentially by non-driven elements, e.g. scraper blades, snow-plough blades, scoop blades and conveying dislodged material by driven or pneumatic means
- E01H5/076—Apparatus propelled by animal or engine power; Apparatus propelled by hand with driven dislodging or conveying levelling elements, conveying pneumatically for the dislodged material dislodging essentially by non-driven elements, e.g. scraper blades, snow-plough blades, scoop blades and conveying dislodged material by driven or pneumatic means by rotary or pneumatic conveying means, e.g. impeller wheels
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A snow blower apparatus is adapted to be removably mounted in the bucket or on the arms of a front end loader or the like and has a housing with a snow intake opening, a snow discharge chute and laterally extending forwardly inclined wings adjoining the snow intake, adapted to scoop snow into the housing when the apparatus is moved in a forward direc-tion. Hydraulic rams are provided for raising and lowering the wings and means are provided to quickly attach and detach the apparatus to and from a front end loader.
A snow blower apparatus is adapted to be removably mounted in the bucket or on the arms of a front end loader or the like and has a housing with a snow intake opening, a snow discharge chute and laterally extending forwardly inclined wings adjoining the snow intake, adapted to scoop snow into the housing when the apparatus is moved in a forward direc-tion. Hydraulic rams are provided for raising and lowering the wings and means are provided to quickly attach and detach the apparatus to and from a front end loader.
Description
q'~2 This invention relates to a snow removal devicer More particularly, it relates to a snow blower apparatus adapted to be removably mounted on a front end loader.
A snow blower in common use which is adapted to be mounted on a vehicle has a box-shaped housing, with a snow intake opening at the front through which snow is scooped into the housing when the snow blower is moved forward. One or more augers mounted in the housing rotate to iMpel snow in the housing upward to be blown through a discharge chute. In certain of such snow blowers the discharge chute rotates about a vertical axis, and is frequently equipped with an adjustable deflector to permit snow to be discharged in a desired direction. In fact, it is this ability to direct the placement of snow which makes snow blowers preferable to snow plows for certain applications. This is especially so in the city where snow plows will often create large ridges of snow in front of driveways. Elowever the ability to use snow blowers in city streets has been restricted due to the limited width of most available snow blowers and to the fact that such blowers cannot operate efficiently in light snow.
The snow intake of conventional blowers has a span which is commensurate with the width of the housing and only the snow which lies directly in front of the housing will be cleared when the apparatus is moved forward. In a condition of moderate to heavy snowfall, the width of the intake of the conventional snow blower is adequate to scoop a significant quantity of snow into the housing. Elowever, under conditions of light snowfall, only relatively little snow would be taken into the housing, requiring the blower to be operated at a level significantly -- 1 -- ~
~7 14~
below its capacity.
Further, the width of conventional snow blowers is generally not greater than eight or nine feet, and this requires a number of sweeps to be made along a standard twenty-eight foot wide pavement, in order to clear a path for traffic to move freely on the road.
The present invention contemplates increasing the op-erating efficiency of a snow blower of the type described, by providing the blower with wings to increase the path width which can be successfully cleared at one time and to ensure that a greater quantity of snow will be taken into the housing under given conditions to more fully utilize the capabilities of the blower.
Thus according to one aspect of the invention a snow blower apparatus is provided which comprises a blower having a housing defining a snow intake opening, a wing provided on one or more sides of the housing, said wing extending laterally outward therefrom at a forward angle to scoop snow into the snow intake opening, and means for pivoting said wing to and from its operative position.
A conventional snow blower is often mounted on a front end loader, truck or other road vehicle. Such a vehicle is often employed for other purposes during the snow-free months and can provide motive force to a snow blower during the winter season.
Conventional snow blowers are generally not equipped with adequate means for attaching them to a driving vehicle, and this often necessitates the provision of auxiliary lugs or connectors which are welded or bolted onto the blower, and corresponding coupling means on the front end of the driving vehicle to permit the blower to be connected and disconnected at will. A front end loader is generally equipped with a large bucket or shovel mounted on large arms which extend forward on the vehicle, and which are movable by means of hydraulic pistons to enable the shovel to be manip-ulated during use. Mountlng of a conventional snow blower on such a vehicle, while desirable, poses problems in that it may be required to remove the shovel in order to enable the apparatus to be attached to the arms. This makes conversion from a movable snow blower to a front end loader difficult and time consuming making it impractical unless such conversion is only infrequently required. Usable coupling means may not be present on the snow blower to enable the blower to be attached to the ends of the arms.
Thus according to another aspect of the present inven-tion, connection means are provided whereby the snow blower can be removably connected to the arms of a front end loader, or the like.
While -the substitution of the blower apparatus for the shovel on the front end loader can be achieved conveniently by the use of the above-mentioned connector means, it may alterna-tively be desirable to mount the snow blower on the front end loader without the need to remove the shovel. It is not at present known for a conventional snow blower to be provided with suitable, convenient means for removably attaching the apparatus to a shovel of a front end loader.
Thus, according to yet another aspect of the invention, there are provided means for removably attaching the apparatus to the shovel of the front end loader.
Finally, because the wings which are used to funnel snow into the snow blower extend in a forward direction in relation to the direction of travel, they must be secured relatively firmly since considerably more pressure may be placed upon them than wings positioned in "swept back" or rearwardly angled positions, as is generally the case in a conventional snow plow. Any support must also allow for the pivoting of the wings since it is also advan-tageous to allow the width of the snow plow to be decreased by raising the wings formanoeuvering the snow plow through the streets when it is not in operation.
Thus further aspects of the invention include hydraulic means for raising and lowering the wings from and to an operative position, and bracing rods rigidly attached to the rear face of each wing and pivotally attached to the housing and adapted to pivot with the wings.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the apparatus;
Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus, shown as attached to the arms of a front end loader;
Figure 2a is an exploded fragmental view illustrating the mounting of the apparatus on the arms of a front end loader;
and Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the apparatus, shown as attached to the bucket of the front end loader.
Referring to the drawings, a conventional snow blower apparatus 10 is used. This is preferably a model 725 McKee Snow-lander (trade mark) in which the houslng has a width of about seven feet, or a McKee model 520-60 (trade mark) with an overall width of about five feet. The latter model is preferable for mounting in the bucket of a front end loader, as it is easily accommodated within the bucket of many front end loaders commonly used. The apparatus includes a housing 12, an opening at the front of the housing, defining a snow intake 13, a pair of fluted, spiral augers 14 mounted in the housing, a motor 16 mounted on top of the housing for driving the augers of the blower, and an upwardly extending snow discharge chute 18 mounted on top of the housing. The chute is rotatable about a vertical axis and has an adjustable cowling 20 attached to its top for discharging snow in a desired direction. The cowling consists of two pivoted sections 20a, and 20b/ and is controlled by a hydraulic ram 21 connected near the top of the chute. The chute itself is rotatable about its axis by a reversible hydraulic motor connected to the base of the chute (not shown).
Steel bracing plates 22 are welded to each side of the housing 12 near the forward end of the apparatus. The plates are positioned vertically and at forwardly inclined angles to the housing 12.
A wing 24 is pivotally mounted on the forward side of each bracing plate 22, by means of a bolt 28 journalled in an upper corner of each wing. In operation, the wings pivot on the bolts 28 when being raised or lowered. In operation, the wings are lowered until the lower edge of each wing is at or near ground level. Each wing abuts one of the bracing plates 22, which serve in addition to reinforce the wing somewhat during operation of the blower apparatus, when the wing is under heavy load, due to large amounts of snow. The wings 24 are aligned in positions substan-tially parallel to the bracing plates 22, and at forwardly inclined angles to the intake 13, which insures that the snow which lies in the path of the wings will be scooped into the snow intake 13, when the apparatus is moved in a forward direction.
The wings 24 are formed of rolled steel fifteen inches in width and are curved inwardly in a shallow arc to form gen-erally rectangular scoops. A blade 26 having a cutting edge of high tensile strength carbon steel is attached to the lower edge of each wing 24.
With reference to Figures 2 and 3, a glide 27 is attached to the rear face of each wing and extends below the level 4t~2 of the corresponding wing. The glide comes into contact with the ground when the wings are lowered to their operative position and serves to hold the blade a short distance above the ground to protect it from damage due to abrasion. The actual clearance between the ~urface and the blade is sufficiently small that sub-stantially all of the snow on the surface is removable by the blade. The glide 27 is retractably mounted in a housing 29 att-ached to the rear of each wing, and can be locked at a suitable position.
A pair of dual action hydraulic cylinders 30 are provided for raising and loweringthe wings. Vertical steel posts 31 are welcled to the top of the housing 12 to extend upwards to a suitable height, as necessary, each for mounting a corresponding hydraulic cylinder. The posts 31 are further reinforced by steel bracing plates 32 welded to the housing and to each corresponding post. At the upper ends of the posts, steel plates 33 are welded so as to extend laterally in a plane generally parallel with the plane of the pivotal movement of the corresponding wing. A
hydraulic cylinder 30 is pivotally attached to each plate 33 and thus enabled to be pivoted in an arc corresponding with pivotal movement of each wing. Each cylinder has a piston 34 which extends generally downward, its end being pivotally attached to the cor-responding wing at a point of attachment which is laterally remote from the pivot point 29 of the wing. By telescoping and contract-ing the piston within the cylinder, the corresponding wing will of course be raised or lowered accordingly. Preferably, a dual action hydraulic cylinder is provided on each side of the housing and actuated by hydraulic lines 35, connected to a hydraulic pump 36 and to solenoid actuating switches (not shown), thereby to per-mit each wing to be selectively raised or lowered independently by i2 an operator from a remote position. The actuating switches arelocated in the cab of the front end loader, so that the hydraulic cylinders can be actuated by the driver during operation of the vehicle. The electrical wiring connecting the switches is pro-vided with a quick-release coupling, so that the apparatus can be conveniently disconnected from the vehicle.
The downward acting force of the hydraulic cylinder enables the wing to be forced downward when necessary for holding it against the road surface~
1~ Means for positioning the wings during pivotal movement and when at rest include bosses 42 mounted on the forward inner edge of each bracing plate adjacent to the housing and adapted to engage the inner edge of the wing below the pivot point 28. Second hosses 44 (see Figure 2 and Figure 3) are attached to the rearward face of each wing adjacent to the housing and are adapted to engage the edge of each respective bracing plate 22 when the wing is in its operative position.
Each wing is further reinforced by a steel rod 46, each rod having one end welded to an outer portion of the corresponding wing. The other end is pivotally connected to the housing 12.
bracket 48 is attached to each side of the housing and the steel rod 46 is pivoted in the bracket to permit the rod to Move with the wing, as the latter is raised and lowered.
Referring to Figure 2 and Figure 2a, the snow blower is shown as attached to the upper and lower arms 36, 37 respectively of a front end loader. ~ pair of steel lugs 38 is welded to the rear of the housing 12 and is equipped with upper and lower bores 40 and 41 respectively, adapted to receive large diameter steel pins 42 and 43 respectively. The arms 36 and 37 of the front end loader are fitted between the paired lugs and pivotally secured by inserting the pins 42 and 43 through the corresponding bores provided in the ends of the arms. It will be understood that two pairs of such lugs are welded to the rear of the housing 12, at opposite ends, to correspond to the two pairs of arms 36, 37 pro-vided on the front end loader.
Added reinforcement and stabilization for this structure are provided by steel rods 45, which extend along the sides of the housing between the lugs and the bracing plates 22.
In an alternate embodiment, the snow blower apparatus 10 is shown in Figure 3 attached to the bucket 52 of a front end loader by a pair of lower supporting rods 54, each having one end rigidly attached to the side of the housing, and an upper suppor-ting rod 56 having one end rigidly attached to the top of the housing.
The rods 54, 56 project rearwardly a suitable distance beyond the housing and are equipped with lugs 58 and 60 respec-tively, whereby they may be attached to the bucket 52 by means of bolts. The lower edge of the apparatus is positioned to sit on the lip of the bucket, and is further secured thereto by a bolt 62 passed through bores in an L-shaped bracket 66 at-tached to the apparatus and corresponding bores suitably formed in the bucket.
The vertical part of the L also has a bolt 68 passing through it and onto this is pivoted an arm 70 which connects with the rear side of the frame of the blower. The mounting arrangement allows the apparatus to be securely attached to the bucket of the front end loader in a minimum amount of time, and similarly to be re-moved when the apparatus is not in use.
The three hydraulic rams and the hydraulic motor are supplied with hydraulic fluid through solenoid-operated control valves (not shown) from a hydraulic pump driven by the engine 16 so that the unit is completely self-contained. The solenoid valves are connected electrically by a simple quick-release elec-trical coupling to a control box in the driver's cab of the frontend loader, so that the operation of the various rams and motors can be easily controlled from the cab It will be observed that when the snow blower is in an operating mode with the wings in their extended positions the forward movement of the apparatus scoops loose snow lying in front of the wings, inwardly toward the housing, where it is blown up-ward through the chute. In this way, the effective width of the blower is increased to the full width of the apparatus when the wings are extended.
When the apparatus is not in use, to reduce their spread, the wings may be folded against the housing by activating the hy-draulic rams upward which draws the wings upward into a more com-pact position. This enables the apparatus to be more easily mano-euvered on streets. By activating the rams downward, the wings are lowered to their operative positions. By activating the rams individually, each wing may be individually deployed to an operative or folded position, as desired.
A snow blower in common use which is adapted to be mounted on a vehicle has a box-shaped housing, with a snow intake opening at the front through which snow is scooped into the housing when the snow blower is moved forward. One or more augers mounted in the housing rotate to iMpel snow in the housing upward to be blown through a discharge chute. In certain of such snow blowers the discharge chute rotates about a vertical axis, and is frequently equipped with an adjustable deflector to permit snow to be discharged in a desired direction. In fact, it is this ability to direct the placement of snow which makes snow blowers preferable to snow plows for certain applications. This is especially so in the city where snow plows will often create large ridges of snow in front of driveways. Elowever the ability to use snow blowers in city streets has been restricted due to the limited width of most available snow blowers and to the fact that such blowers cannot operate efficiently in light snow.
The snow intake of conventional blowers has a span which is commensurate with the width of the housing and only the snow which lies directly in front of the housing will be cleared when the apparatus is moved forward. In a condition of moderate to heavy snowfall, the width of the intake of the conventional snow blower is adequate to scoop a significant quantity of snow into the housing. Elowever, under conditions of light snowfall, only relatively little snow would be taken into the housing, requiring the blower to be operated at a level significantly -- 1 -- ~
~7 14~
below its capacity.
Further, the width of conventional snow blowers is generally not greater than eight or nine feet, and this requires a number of sweeps to be made along a standard twenty-eight foot wide pavement, in order to clear a path for traffic to move freely on the road.
The present invention contemplates increasing the op-erating efficiency of a snow blower of the type described, by providing the blower with wings to increase the path width which can be successfully cleared at one time and to ensure that a greater quantity of snow will be taken into the housing under given conditions to more fully utilize the capabilities of the blower.
Thus according to one aspect of the invention a snow blower apparatus is provided which comprises a blower having a housing defining a snow intake opening, a wing provided on one or more sides of the housing, said wing extending laterally outward therefrom at a forward angle to scoop snow into the snow intake opening, and means for pivoting said wing to and from its operative position.
A conventional snow blower is often mounted on a front end loader, truck or other road vehicle. Such a vehicle is often employed for other purposes during the snow-free months and can provide motive force to a snow blower during the winter season.
Conventional snow blowers are generally not equipped with adequate means for attaching them to a driving vehicle, and this often necessitates the provision of auxiliary lugs or connectors which are welded or bolted onto the blower, and corresponding coupling means on the front end of the driving vehicle to permit the blower to be connected and disconnected at will. A front end loader is generally equipped with a large bucket or shovel mounted on large arms which extend forward on the vehicle, and which are movable by means of hydraulic pistons to enable the shovel to be manip-ulated during use. Mountlng of a conventional snow blower on such a vehicle, while desirable, poses problems in that it may be required to remove the shovel in order to enable the apparatus to be attached to the arms. This makes conversion from a movable snow blower to a front end loader difficult and time consuming making it impractical unless such conversion is only infrequently required. Usable coupling means may not be present on the snow blower to enable the blower to be attached to the ends of the arms.
Thus according to another aspect of the present inven-tion, connection means are provided whereby the snow blower can be removably connected to the arms of a front end loader, or the like.
While -the substitution of the blower apparatus for the shovel on the front end loader can be achieved conveniently by the use of the above-mentioned connector means, it may alterna-tively be desirable to mount the snow blower on the front end loader without the need to remove the shovel. It is not at present known for a conventional snow blower to be provided with suitable, convenient means for removably attaching the apparatus to a shovel of a front end loader.
Thus, according to yet another aspect of the invention, there are provided means for removably attaching the apparatus to the shovel of the front end loader.
Finally, because the wings which are used to funnel snow into the snow blower extend in a forward direction in relation to the direction of travel, they must be secured relatively firmly since considerably more pressure may be placed upon them than wings positioned in "swept back" or rearwardly angled positions, as is generally the case in a conventional snow plow. Any support must also allow for the pivoting of the wings since it is also advan-tageous to allow the width of the snow plow to be decreased by raising the wings formanoeuvering the snow plow through the streets when it is not in operation.
Thus further aspects of the invention include hydraulic means for raising and lowering the wings from and to an operative position, and bracing rods rigidly attached to the rear face of each wing and pivotally attached to the housing and adapted to pivot with the wings.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the apparatus;
Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus, shown as attached to the arms of a front end loader;
Figure 2a is an exploded fragmental view illustrating the mounting of the apparatus on the arms of a front end loader;
and Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the apparatus, shown as attached to the bucket of the front end loader.
Referring to the drawings, a conventional snow blower apparatus 10 is used. This is preferably a model 725 McKee Snow-lander (trade mark) in which the houslng has a width of about seven feet, or a McKee model 520-60 (trade mark) with an overall width of about five feet. The latter model is preferable for mounting in the bucket of a front end loader, as it is easily accommodated within the bucket of many front end loaders commonly used. The apparatus includes a housing 12, an opening at the front of the housing, defining a snow intake 13, a pair of fluted, spiral augers 14 mounted in the housing, a motor 16 mounted on top of the housing for driving the augers of the blower, and an upwardly extending snow discharge chute 18 mounted on top of the housing. The chute is rotatable about a vertical axis and has an adjustable cowling 20 attached to its top for discharging snow in a desired direction. The cowling consists of two pivoted sections 20a, and 20b/ and is controlled by a hydraulic ram 21 connected near the top of the chute. The chute itself is rotatable about its axis by a reversible hydraulic motor connected to the base of the chute (not shown).
Steel bracing plates 22 are welded to each side of the housing 12 near the forward end of the apparatus. The plates are positioned vertically and at forwardly inclined angles to the housing 12.
A wing 24 is pivotally mounted on the forward side of each bracing plate 22, by means of a bolt 28 journalled in an upper corner of each wing. In operation, the wings pivot on the bolts 28 when being raised or lowered. In operation, the wings are lowered until the lower edge of each wing is at or near ground level. Each wing abuts one of the bracing plates 22, which serve in addition to reinforce the wing somewhat during operation of the blower apparatus, when the wing is under heavy load, due to large amounts of snow. The wings 24 are aligned in positions substan-tially parallel to the bracing plates 22, and at forwardly inclined angles to the intake 13, which insures that the snow which lies in the path of the wings will be scooped into the snow intake 13, when the apparatus is moved in a forward direction.
The wings 24 are formed of rolled steel fifteen inches in width and are curved inwardly in a shallow arc to form gen-erally rectangular scoops. A blade 26 having a cutting edge of high tensile strength carbon steel is attached to the lower edge of each wing 24.
With reference to Figures 2 and 3, a glide 27 is attached to the rear face of each wing and extends below the level 4t~2 of the corresponding wing. The glide comes into contact with the ground when the wings are lowered to their operative position and serves to hold the blade a short distance above the ground to protect it from damage due to abrasion. The actual clearance between the ~urface and the blade is sufficiently small that sub-stantially all of the snow on the surface is removable by the blade. The glide 27 is retractably mounted in a housing 29 att-ached to the rear of each wing, and can be locked at a suitable position.
A pair of dual action hydraulic cylinders 30 are provided for raising and loweringthe wings. Vertical steel posts 31 are welcled to the top of the housing 12 to extend upwards to a suitable height, as necessary, each for mounting a corresponding hydraulic cylinder. The posts 31 are further reinforced by steel bracing plates 32 welded to the housing and to each corresponding post. At the upper ends of the posts, steel plates 33 are welded so as to extend laterally in a plane generally parallel with the plane of the pivotal movement of the corresponding wing. A
hydraulic cylinder 30 is pivotally attached to each plate 33 and thus enabled to be pivoted in an arc corresponding with pivotal movement of each wing. Each cylinder has a piston 34 which extends generally downward, its end being pivotally attached to the cor-responding wing at a point of attachment which is laterally remote from the pivot point 29 of the wing. By telescoping and contract-ing the piston within the cylinder, the corresponding wing will of course be raised or lowered accordingly. Preferably, a dual action hydraulic cylinder is provided on each side of the housing and actuated by hydraulic lines 35, connected to a hydraulic pump 36 and to solenoid actuating switches (not shown), thereby to per-mit each wing to be selectively raised or lowered independently by i2 an operator from a remote position. The actuating switches arelocated in the cab of the front end loader, so that the hydraulic cylinders can be actuated by the driver during operation of the vehicle. The electrical wiring connecting the switches is pro-vided with a quick-release coupling, so that the apparatus can be conveniently disconnected from the vehicle.
The downward acting force of the hydraulic cylinder enables the wing to be forced downward when necessary for holding it against the road surface~
1~ Means for positioning the wings during pivotal movement and when at rest include bosses 42 mounted on the forward inner edge of each bracing plate adjacent to the housing and adapted to engage the inner edge of the wing below the pivot point 28. Second hosses 44 (see Figure 2 and Figure 3) are attached to the rearward face of each wing adjacent to the housing and are adapted to engage the edge of each respective bracing plate 22 when the wing is in its operative position.
Each wing is further reinforced by a steel rod 46, each rod having one end welded to an outer portion of the corresponding wing. The other end is pivotally connected to the housing 12.
bracket 48 is attached to each side of the housing and the steel rod 46 is pivoted in the bracket to permit the rod to Move with the wing, as the latter is raised and lowered.
Referring to Figure 2 and Figure 2a, the snow blower is shown as attached to the upper and lower arms 36, 37 respectively of a front end loader. ~ pair of steel lugs 38 is welded to the rear of the housing 12 and is equipped with upper and lower bores 40 and 41 respectively, adapted to receive large diameter steel pins 42 and 43 respectively. The arms 36 and 37 of the front end loader are fitted between the paired lugs and pivotally secured by inserting the pins 42 and 43 through the corresponding bores provided in the ends of the arms. It will be understood that two pairs of such lugs are welded to the rear of the housing 12, at opposite ends, to correspond to the two pairs of arms 36, 37 pro-vided on the front end loader.
Added reinforcement and stabilization for this structure are provided by steel rods 45, which extend along the sides of the housing between the lugs and the bracing plates 22.
In an alternate embodiment, the snow blower apparatus 10 is shown in Figure 3 attached to the bucket 52 of a front end loader by a pair of lower supporting rods 54, each having one end rigidly attached to the side of the housing, and an upper suppor-ting rod 56 having one end rigidly attached to the top of the housing.
The rods 54, 56 project rearwardly a suitable distance beyond the housing and are equipped with lugs 58 and 60 respec-tively, whereby they may be attached to the bucket 52 by means of bolts. The lower edge of the apparatus is positioned to sit on the lip of the bucket, and is further secured thereto by a bolt 62 passed through bores in an L-shaped bracket 66 at-tached to the apparatus and corresponding bores suitably formed in the bucket.
The vertical part of the L also has a bolt 68 passing through it and onto this is pivoted an arm 70 which connects with the rear side of the frame of the blower. The mounting arrangement allows the apparatus to be securely attached to the bucket of the front end loader in a minimum amount of time, and similarly to be re-moved when the apparatus is not in use.
The three hydraulic rams and the hydraulic motor are supplied with hydraulic fluid through solenoid-operated control valves (not shown) from a hydraulic pump driven by the engine 16 so that the unit is completely self-contained. The solenoid valves are connected electrically by a simple quick-release elec-trical coupling to a control box in the driver's cab of the frontend loader, so that the operation of the various rams and motors can be easily controlled from the cab It will be observed that when the snow blower is in an operating mode with the wings in their extended positions the forward movement of the apparatus scoops loose snow lying in front of the wings, inwardly toward the housing, where it is blown up-ward through the chute. In this way, the effective width of the blower is increased to the full width of the apparatus when the wings are extended.
When the apparatus is not in use, to reduce their spread, the wings may be folded against the housing by activating the hy-draulic rams upward which draws the wings upward into a more com-pact position. This enables the apparatus to be more easily mano-euvered on streets. By activating the rams downward, the wings are lowered to their operative positions. By activating the rams individually, each wing may be individually deployed to an operative or folded position, as desired.
Claims (9)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A snow blower apparatus comprising:
a blower having a housing providing a snow intake opening, a wing mounted on at least one side of the housing for pivotal movement about a substantially horizontal axis between operative and inoperative positions, the wing in its operative position extending laterally outwards from the housing at a forward angle to scoop snow into the intake opening, and power means for raising and lowering the wing about its axis between said operative and inoperative positions.
a blower having a housing providing a snow intake opening, a wing mounted on at least one side of the housing for pivotal movement about a substantially horizontal axis between operative and inoperative positions, the wing in its operative position extending laterally outwards from the housing at a forward angle to scoop snow into the intake opening, and power means for raising and lowering the wing about its axis between said operative and inoperative positions.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power means comprises a hydraulic ram pivotally connected to the housing and to the wing, respectively, at points spaced from the pivotal axis of the wing, whereby to raise and lower the wing through a generally vertical arc.
3. A snow blower apparatus as claimed in claim 2 further comprising means for removably mounting the apparatus on the forward end of a road vehicle.
4. A snow blower apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which the road vehicle is a front end loader or the like having a bucket and in which the means for mounting the apparatus include at least one rigid supporting rod secured to the bucket.
5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the vehicle is a front end loader or the like, having one or more arms for mounting a bucket, said apparatus being adapted to be removably attached to said arms.
6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 comprising lugs provided on the rear of the housing, said lugs having one or more bores for receiving mounting pins, said arms being adapted to be connected to the apparatus by means of the mounting pins.
7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the hydraulic ram is driven by a hydraulic pump controlled by solenoid valves and in which the solenoid valves are controlled from the front end loader through a quick-release electrical coupling so that the apparatus can be disconnected from the front end loader.
8. A snow blower apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the wing is reinforced by a support, rigidly attached to the rear face of the wing, the support being pivotally attached to the housing and adapted to pivot with the wing.
9. A snow blower apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the blower is further provided with one or more bracing plates rigidly attached to the housing for mounting the wing, said bracing plates being at an angle substantially parallel to the wing, and in which means are provided for positioning the wing in substantially bracing relationship to said plates during operation.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000390535A CA1161462A (en) | 1981-11-20 | 1981-11-20 | Snow blower with wings |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000390535A CA1161462A (en) | 1981-11-20 | 1981-11-20 | Snow blower with wings |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1161462A true CA1161462A (en) | 1984-01-31 |
Family
ID=4121456
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000390535A Expired CA1161462A (en) | 1981-11-20 | 1981-11-20 | Snow blower with wings |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1161462A (en) |
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN106592496A (en) * | 2016-11-23 | 2017-04-26 | 宁波市镇海丹发机械科技有限公司 | Extruding type snow removing device |
| CN114232550A (en) * | 2021-11-08 | 2022-03-25 | 无锡友鹏航空装备科技有限公司 | Road snow removing vehicle |
| US11555283B2 (en) | 2019-05-08 | 2023-01-17 | Cal G. Niemela | Wing plow apparatus for vehicle |
-
1981
- 1981-11-20 CA CA000390535A patent/CA1161462A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN106592496A (en) * | 2016-11-23 | 2017-04-26 | 宁波市镇海丹发机械科技有限公司 | Extruding type snow removing device |
| US11555283B2 (en) | 2019-05-08 | 2023-01-17 | Cal G. Niemela | Wing plow apparatus for vehicle |
| CN114232550A (en) * | 2021-11-08 | 2022-03-25 | 无锡友鹏航空装备科技有限公司 | Road snow removing vehicle |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
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| MKEX | Expiry |