CA2196223A1

CA2196223A1 - Blowplow

Info

Publication number: CA2196223A1
Application number: CA 2196223
Authority: CA
Inventors: Luc Belzile
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-01-29
Filing date: 1997-01-29
Publication date: 1998-07-29

Abstract

In the art of removing snow from highway, street, parking lot and driveway, there are mainly two type of equipment used, snowplows and snowblowers. This invention describe a way to make a machine that would combine a snowplow and a snowblower in the same unit.

Description

2 ~ 96223 Specification This invention relates to a piece of equipment installed in front of a pushing vehicule and used for removing snow from streets, parking lot, etc... presently the two most common machinec to do that task are snowplows and snowblowers.
Powered snowblowers have been in service for many years, there are mainly two basic type of snowblowers, one stage and two stage snowblower.
A one stage snowblower as an auger installed horizontally in an housing which as an open front. This housing as ends plates on which bearings are installed to permit the rotation of the auger. In a one stage snowblower, the auger also act as an impeller by having some impeller fins on the auger shaft, thus throwing the snow out the snow exhaust chute usualy located in the middle of the top of the auger housing.
A two stage snowblower i8 similar to a one stage snowblower exept that the impeller is installed in a housing k~hin~ the auger housing. The auger does not have any impeller fins on it and direct the snow towards the impeller, then, this impeller throw the snow out the snow exhaust chute mounted on the top of the impeller housing.
Snowplows come in a few models, two of the most important one are the straight snowplow and the variable angle snowplow.
The straight snowplow is mainly a concave curved plate link by a subframe to a pushing vehicule, that plate is perpendicular to the path of the vehicule. A variable angle snowplow is almost the same as a straight snowplow exept that the concave curved plate can be oriented in relation to the path of the pushing vehicule, thus plowing the snow to one of the side of the vehicule.
Snowblowers works good when the snow is deep and hard packed or when the snow have to be thrown over a big distance. Snowplow require less energy to clear the same path and are usualy faster as long as the snow is not too deep.
A few vehicule, like some farm tractors can be fitted with a snowplow in front and a snowblower at the rear, thus giving the operator the choice of equipment to use depending on the snow condition. There is a problem with highway snow removing equipment and other snow removing equipment, like wheel loaders that are usualy fitted with a snowplow or sometimes with a snowblower. In those case the operator can not switch between a snowplow and a snowblower as he encounter different snow condition. I have discovered a way to make a snowplow that would, at the operator demand, convert itself into a snowblower.
I have called this invention a Blowplow.

2~ 96223 Description of the drawings, Fig.1 is a front view of a two stage blowplow in blower mode, Fig.2 is a side view of a two stage blowplow in blower mode, Fig.3 is a top view of a two stage blowplow in blower mode, and Fig.4 is a side view of a two stage blowplow in plow mode.
Referring to fig.1 to 3, a two stage blowplow is shown in the blower mode, augers 1 are installed between bearings 8 attached to the auger housing end plates 3. Augers 1 are driven from inside of the auger chain case 4 by an hydraulic motor or by mechanical means. An impeller 5 is installed in the impeller housing 6 located behind the auger housing 2, this impeller S is driven by an hydraulic motor 9 or by mechanical means. As augers 1 turns, the snow is directed toward the impeller 5, the snow is then throwned by the impeller 5 into the snow exhaust chute 7 located at the top of the impeller housing 6. The impeller housing 6 is also arrange to be rotated in the same axis as the impeller 5 rotation axis, thus permitting the snow exhaust chute 7 to be positionned on the side of the impeller housing 6. The whole blowplow unit is attached to the pushing vehicule by a sub frame 10, a sub frame pivot 11 combined with two pivot cylinders 12 permit the snowplow unit to be oriented in relation to the path of the pushing vehicule for the use of the blowplow in the plow mode. An impeller housing hole cover 15 can be slided to cover the impeller housing 6 opening in the auger housing 2 to cover that opening when the machine is used in the plow mode.
Referring to fig.4, a two stage blowplow is shown in the plow mode. The two auger housing end plates 3, along with augers 1, and the auger chain case 4 with the use of augers lifting cylinders 13, are rotated around the auger lifting pivot 14 to their plow mode location. The impeller housing 6 is rotated in a way that the snow exhaust chute does not interfered with augers 1 in their plow mode location The blowplow unit could also be fabricated as one stage snowblower, in that case, their would be no impeller housing and the impeller would be part of the auger. Also the snow exhaust chute would be on the top of the auger housing. The two stage blowplow can also have only one auger instead of two augers as shown in the drawings.

Claims

1 A one stage snowblower that can be converted into a snowplow by installing a mecanism that move the auger/impeller away from the auger housing for the purpose of using that auger housing as a snowplow.

2 A two stage snowblower that can be converted into a snowplow by installing a mecanism that move the auger away from the auger housing and by blocking the impeller housing opening for the purpose of using the auger housing as a snowplow.

3 A snowplow that can be converted into a one stage snowblower by installing a mecanism that move an auger/impeller in front of the concave plate which form the snowplow and by locating a snow exhaust chute on the top of that concave plate.

4 A snowplow that can be converted into a two stage snowblower by installing a mecanism that move an auger in front of the concave plate which form the snowplow and by locating an impeller with an impeller housing and snow exhaust chute behind the snowplow concave plate.