JP7491528B2 - Snow plow-mounted blower attachment, road cleaning device using same, and road cleaning vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for cleaning road surfaces, etc.

Immediately after a typhoon has passed, the road surface is littered with twigs, fallen leaves, and various types of garbage, and it is necessary to quickly remove this to ensure safe passage on the road. To achieve this, conventionally, roads have been closed to traffic and cleaned manually or by spraying water as described in Patent Document 1.

The road sweeping vehicle 1 described in Patent Document 1 (the symbols are the symbols described in Patent Document 1) is equipped with a driver's seat 2 at the front, a loading platform 3 provided behind the loading platform 3, a water tank 4 installed at the rear of the loading platform 3, a water intake 5 and a water discharge port 6 provided in front of the water tank 4, a snow removal plow 7 attached integrally to the front of the driver's seat 2, a water supply hose 8 extending from the plow 7 to the discharge port 6, and a water supply pump 10 for supplying water from the water tank 4 to the water supply hose 8. A T-shaped branch pipe 20 is connected to the tip of the water supply hose 8, and bases 14b of water supply branch hoses 14A and 14B are connected to both ends of the branch pipe 20 via switching valves 30A and 30B, respectively. In addition, spray nozzles 13A and 13B for spraying water are provided at both ends of the plow 7, and the tips 14a of the water supply branch hoses 14A and 14B are connected to the bases 13a of the spray nozzles 13A and 13B. In the road sweeping vehicle described in Patent Document 1, water is sprayed over a wide area in front of the plow from water spray nozzles attached to both ends of the plow, causing litter scattered on the road surface to float up over a wide area, and the tilted plow collects the floated litter on the side of the road, so that the water spray nozzles and the plow work together to efficiently and reliably remove litter scattered on the road surface.

Patent No. 5152848 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-23620 Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-35446

Manual cleaning requires a large number of personnel and takes a lot of time.

In the case of the road sweeper that uses water spraying as described in Patent Document 1, water must be kept in the water tank, but if it is attempted to clean the road surface more quickly, the amount of water sprayed will increase, and there is a possibility that the water in the water tank will be used up quickly. For example, if the road sweeper sprays 1,000 liters of water per minute and the capacity of the water tank is 4,000 to 8,000 liters, the water in the water tank will be used up in a short period of time, from 4 to 8 minutes.

As a result, road sweepers that use water spraying require frequent refills, resulting in a lot of lost time, such as waiting for water and traveling to the water station. Of course, it is possible to eliminate some of the lost time by adjusting the amount of water sprayed, increasing the capacity of the water tank, or running a separate water truck alongside the vehicle, but there are limits to what can be done. Therefore, with road sweepers that use water spraying, lost time inevitably occurs, and there is a problem that the road surface cannot be cleaned efficiently.

Patent documents 2 and 3 show devices with a blower attached to a plow, but these blowers are for removing snow and cannot be used as is to clean road surfaces.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a road cleaning device and a road cleaning vehicle that can efficiently clean road surfaces.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following features. The present invention is a blower attachment attachment for snow plows that can be detachably attached using fastening means provided on the plow and to which a blower can be detachably attached.

The present invention also provides a road cleaning device that includes a plow, a snowplow-mounted blower attachment that can be detachably attached using a fastening means provided on the plow and to which a blower can be detachably attached, and a blower attached to the attachment.

The present invention also provides a road sweeping vehicle that includes a vehicle, a plow provided at the front end of the vehicle, a snow plow-mounted blower attachment that can be detachably attached using fastening means provided on the plow and to which a blower can be detachably attached, and a blower attached to the attachment.

Preferably, the mounting attachment comprises a mounting support part that is attached so as to rise from the fastening means at the bottom of the plow, a mounting frame whose upper part is attached to the fastening means at the top of the plow and whose lower part is attached to the mounting support part, and a blower mounting bracket that is attached to the mounting frame and to which a blower can be detachably attached.

Preferably, the blower mounting bracket is attached to the plow side of the mounting frame, and the blower is attached to the blower mounting bracket so that the blower's air outlet is outside the mounting frame.

Preferably, the blower mounting bracket is fitted with anti-vibration rubber that can come into contact with the plow.

According to the present invention, it is possible to clean road surfaces by attaching a blower to a plow and blowing away twigs, fallen leaves, various types of debris, etc. Whether the blower is engine-powered, rechargeable, or electric, it can continue to operate as long as the fuel and charge last. Therefore, compared to cleaning road surfaces by sprinkling water, it is possible to continue cleaning road surfaces for a long period of time, eliminating the time lost due to water supply, as with a sprinkler truck, and as a result, it is possible to clean road surfaces efficiently. In addition, the direction of the wind from the blower can be adjusted by moving the plow left and right or up and down, allowing for efficient road cleaning.

To realize the present invention, a snow plow-mounted blower attachment is used, and the attachment is attached to the plow using the plow's fastening means as is. Therefore, a vehicle equipped with a plow that is not used except during the snowy and icy season can be used to clean road surfaces of twigs, fallen leaves, various debris, etc., allowing for more effective use of the vehicle. In addition, since the blower is detachable, if the blower and attachment are removed, the vehicle can be used as a snow removal vehicle during the snowy and icy season.

There are various possible structures for the mounting attachment, but for example, by using a mounting support part, a mounting frame, and a blower mounting bracket, it is possible to attach the blower to the plow in a simple, inexpensive, and strong manner, making it possible to clean the road surface safely.

In addition, by attaching the blower mounting bracket to the plow side of the mounting frame and attaching the blower to the blower mounting bracket so that the blower's air outlet is on the outside of the mounting frame, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the blower is stored inside the plow. This is extremely useful from a practical standpoint, as in the case of a triple plow, when the left and right plows are folded up, the vehicle width can be made to be sufficient to pass through toll gates on expressways, etc.

By using a structure that allows the vibration-damping rubber to come into contact with the plow, it is possible to protect the blower from vibrations when cleaning the road surface.

These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a portion of a traveling vehicle 20 having snow plows (hereinafter referred to as "plows") 10a, 10b, and 10c for mounting a snow plow-mounted blower mounting attachment 1 (hereinafter referred to as "mounting attachment 1") according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a left side view showing a part of a traveling vehicle 20 having plows 10a, 10b, 10c for mounting the mounting attachment 1. In Fig. 2, the plow 10b on the side that cannot be seen is shown in parentheses. Fig. 3 is a front view showing the state when the blower 30 is attached to each of the multiple mounting attachments 1 and the short type mounting attachment 1a, and the plows 10b, 10c are unfolded. In Fig. 3, reference numerals are omitted for parts having similar appearances. In Fig. 3, the plows 10b, 10c when folded are shown by dashed lines. FIG. 4 is a left side view showing the mounting attachment 1 and the blower 30 when mounted on the plows 10a, 10b, and 10c. FIG. 5 is a right side view showing the mounting attachment 1 and the blower 30 when mounted on the plows 10a, 10b, and 10c. FIG. 6 is a front view showing the mounting attachment 1 and the blower 30 when mounted on the plows 10a, 10b, and 10c. 7A, 7B, and 7C are diagrams showing the mounting frame 40 constituting the mounting attachment 1, in which (a) is a front view, (b) is a left side view, and (c) is a plan view. 8A, 8B, and 8C are diagrams showing the blower mounting bracket 50 constituting the mounting attachment 1, in which (a) is a front view, (b) is a left side view, and (c) is a plan view. FIG. 9 is a photograph showing an embodiment.

First, a vehicle equipped with a plow will be described. The vehicle used in the present invention is equipped with a plow for snow removal at the front. The plow used may be a triple type with left and right plows opening as shown in Figures 1 and 2, or a type with one plow in the center. Also, the structure of the plow described here is merely one example, and the specific structure of the mounting attachment 1 can be designed appropriately to match the structure of the plow to be used.

As shown in FIG. 1, as an example, a vehicle used in an embodiment of the present invention is equipped with three foldable plows 10a, 10b, and 10c in front of a traveling vehicle 20. Hereinafter, when each plow is expressed separately, it will be expressed as a central plow 10a, a right plow 10b, and a left plow 10c. The right plow 10b can be opened toward the central plow 10a by a hydraulic cylinder 11a. The left plow 10c can be opened toward the central plow 10a by a hydraulic cylinder 11b. The plows 10a, 10b, and 10c can be tilted to the right or left as a whole by hydraulic cylinders 11c and 11d. In addition, the vertical tilt angle of the central plow 10a can be adjusted by hydraulic cylinders 11e and 11f, and as a result, the vertical tilt angles of the left and right plows 10b and 10c can also be adjusted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the plows 10a, 10b, and 10c are curved inward in side view. A snow shovel 12 is fixed to the bottom of each plow by a plurality of fastening means 13 (in FIG. 2, only a portion of the plow is shown with a lead line, but similar illustrated parts are the same fastening means 13). A rubber plate 14 for preventing snow from spreading upward is fixed to the top of each plow by a plurality of fastening means 15 (in FIG. 2, only a portion of the plow is shown with a lead line, but similar illustrated parts are the same fastening means 15). The mounting attachment 1 in one embodiment of the present invention is attached to each plow 10a, 10b, and 10c using the plurality of fastening means 13 and the plurality of fastening means 15. To repeat, even in the case of a single-plow, the mounting attachment 1 is attached to the plow, and the present invention is not limited to a triple-plow.

As shown in FIG. 3, two mounting attachments 1 are attached to the left and right sides of the central plow 10a, and one short-type mounting attachment 1a is attached to the center. Two mounting attachments 1 are attached to the left and right sides of the left and right plows 10b and 10c, respectively.

The short type mounting attachment 1a is simply made shorter in width than the mounting attachment 1 in order to attach three mounting attachments to the central plow 10a, and has a cutout in the frame to accommodate the blower 30, but its basic structure is the same as that of the mounting attachment 1. In the following, unless otherwise specified, the structure of the mounting attachment 1 will be explained assuming that the mounting attachment 1a also has the same structure as the mounting attachment 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, each mounting attachment 1 (including "mounting attachment 1a"; the same applies below) generally consists of a mounting support part 60 attached to the bottom of each plow using fastening means 13, a mounting frame 40 whose upper part is attached to each plow using fastening means 15 and whose lower part is attached to one end of the mounting support part 60, and a blower mounting bracket 50 for fixing the blower attached to the mounting frame 40.

In this example, an engine-powered blower is used as the blower 30, but it goes without saying that a rechargeable or electric blower may also be used. If an electric blower is used, a generator may be installed on the traveling vehicle 20 and electricity may be supplied from the generator.

As described above, in one embodiment of the present invention, the mounting attachment 1 is attached using the fastening means provided on each plow, and the blower 30 is attached to each mounting attachment 1. Naturally, if at least one blower is attached, it is possible to remove twigs, fallen leaves, various types of debris, etc. from the road surface, so the invention requires that at least one mounting attachment 1 and blower are attached to the plow. And, by increasing the number of blowers, the removal of debris, etc. from the road surface will be more efficient.

Whether engine-powered, rechargeable, or electric, such blowers can continue to operate as long as the fuel or battery lasts, and generally can operate for long periods of time. When cleaning roads by spraying water, there is a loss of time for the water to be resupplied, but when cleaning roads with a blower, there is almost no such loss of time.

At least one blower is attached to the plow, and preferably multiple blowers are attached via the mounting attachment 1. While driving the blower 30, the traveling vehicle 20 travels along the road surface and moves the plow to an appropriate position left and right or up and down as appropriate, making it possible to effectively remove twigs, fallen leaves, various types of garbage, etc. from the road surface and push them to the edge of the road, such as the road shoulder. When using a triple plow, by attaching six blowers 30 (excluding the blower 30 of the short type mounting attachment 1a of the central plow 10a) or seven blowers 30 (mounted as shown in Figure 3), a considerable amount of air volume can be applied from the plow to the road surface, making it possible to efficiently clean the road surface.

With the above general configuration in mind, the specific structure of the mounting attachment 1 will now be described with reference to Figures 4 to 8.

As shown in Figures 4 to 6, the mounting attachment 1 comprises a mounting frame 40, a blower mounting bracket 50, a mounting support part 60, and a vibration-isolating rubber 70.

As shown in the figure, the mounting support 60 is a metal fitting with bent upper and lower ends. The lower end of the mounting support 60 is attached to the lower part of each plow via the fastening means 13 at the lower part of the plow. The upper end of the mounting support 60 is attached to the lower end of the mounting frame 40 via the fastening means 41. Here, the mounting support 60 is a set of two, one on the left and one on the right, that supports the lower part of the mounting frame 40. However, since the mounting support 60 is attached using holes that already exist in the plow, the mounting position of the mounting support 60 will change depending on the plow. For this reason, the hole for attaching the mounting support 60 on the mounting frame 40 side is an elongated hole so that the mounting position can be adjusted.

The upper part of the mounting frame 40 is attached via the fastening means 15, using holes that are pre-drilled in the plow. Since the position of the fastening means 15 changes depending on the plow, the holes in the mounting frame 40 for attaching the fastening means 15 are also elongated holes.

As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the mounting frame 40 is made up of a left frame 43, a right frame 44, a lower frame 45, an upper frame 46, and a blower mounting bracket base 47. The left frame 43, the right frame 44, the lower frame 45, and the upper frame 46 are each metal fittings bent into an L-shaped cross section and fixed by welding. The blower mounting bracket base 47 is a U-shaped metal fitting and fixed by welding to the lower frame 45. The lower frame 45 and the blower mounting bracket base 47 have holes 42a formed therein for attaching the blower mounting bracket 50 with the fastening means 42. The blower mounting bracket 50 is attached to the blower mounting bracket base 47 with the fastening means 42.

As shown in FIG. 8, the blower mounting bracket 50 is composed of a plate member 51 with an L-shaped cross section, left and right support plates 52, 53, and a base bracket 54 with both left and right ends bent at right angles. The base bracket 54 is fixed to the front edge of the plate member 51 by welding. The left and right support plates 52, 53 are fixed to the left and right edges of the plate member 51 by welding. The upper part of the plate member 51 has holes 55 for vibration-proof rubber. Vibration-proof rubber 70 is attached to the holes 55. The vibration-proof rubber 70 is, for example, a member in which a rubber lump is attached to a threaded rod, and is attached to the holes 55 by a nut on the threaded rod. The vibration-proof rubber 70 abuts against the plow side during vibration and serves to protect the blower 30 from vibration.

The base metal fitting 54 and the plate member 51 are appropriately formed with holes for fixing the blower 30. These holes are for removably mounting the blower 30 to be used, and may be formed in appropriate locations according to the blower 30.

The blower 30 is fixed to the blower mounting bracket 50 using holes formed in the blower mounting bracket 50 as appropriate.

The blower mounting bracket 50 is attached to the plow side of the mounting frame 40. The blower 30 is attached to the blower mounting bracket so that the air outlet 31 of the blower 30 is outside the mounting frame 40.

With the specific structure described above, the mounting attachment 1 is attached to the plow, and the blower 30 is attached to the mounting attachment 1, thereby providing a road cleaning device and road cleaning vehicle with one or more blowers attached to the plow.

The specific structure of the mounting attachment 1 described above is merely one example of the present invention. The mounting attachment may have any structure as long as it has a structure that allows it to be attached to the plow using the fastening means provided on the plow. For example, in the above embodiment, the mounting support part 60 is raised from the bottom of the plow and connected to the bottom of the mounting frame 40, but if the mounting frame 40 itself is provided with a structure that allows it to be directly connected to the fastening means on the bottom of the plow, the mounting support part 60 will not be necessary. Also, if the mounting frame 40 itself is provided with a structure for directly fixing the blower 30, the blower mounting bracket 50 will not be necessary.

In addition, the blower and mounting attachment must be removable when there is snow or ice, so the blower and mounting attachment must be removable.

In view of the above, the present invention is a snow plow-mounted blower mounting attachment that is a mounting attachment that can be attached and detached using a fastening means provided on the plow, and is characterized in that the blower can be attached and detached. The present invention is also a road cleaning device to which the snow plow-mounted blower mounting attachment is attached. The present invention is also a road cleaning vehicle to which the road cleaning device is attached. A specific embodiment of the mounting attachment has the structure described above.

Figure 9 shows a photograph of an embodiment. As shown in Figure 9, by attaching the mounting attachment 1 to a plow and attaching a blower 30 to the mounting attachment 1, the snow removal vehicle can be used outside of the snowy and icy seasons as a device for blowing away twigs, fallen leaves, various debris, etc. with the blower.

Although the present invention has been described in detail above, the above description is merely illustrative of the present invention in every respect and is not intended to limit its scope. It goes without saying that various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Each of the constituent elements of the invention disclosed in this specification is considered to be an independent invention. Inventions in which the constituent elements are combined in any combination are also included in the present invention.

The present invention relates to a snow plow-mounted blower attachment, a road cleaning device, and a road cleaning vehicle, and can be used industrially.

1. Snow plow-mounted blower attachment (mounting attachment)
LIST OF SYMBOLS 1a Short type mounting attachment 10a, 10b, 10c Snow plow 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e, 11f Hydraulic cylinder 12 Snow shovel board 13 Fastening means 14 Rubber plate 15 Fastening means 20 Traveling vehicle 30 Blower 31 Air outlet 40 Mounting frame 41 Fastening means 42 Fastening means 43 Left frame 44 Right frame 45 Lower frame 46 Upper frame 47 Blower mounting bracket base 50 Blower mounting bracket 51 Plate member 52 Support plate 53 Support plate 54 Base bracket 55 Hole 60 Mounting support portion 70 Anti-vibration rubber

Claims (5)

A snow plow-mounted blower mounting attachment for mounting an engine-powered, rechargeable, or electric blower (30) for blowing off objects on the road surface and cleaning the road, on the front surface of a snow plow for removing snow, the snow plow having a first fastening means (13) for fastening a snow shovel plate (12) attached to the lower portion and a second fastening means (15) for fastening a rubber plate (14) attached to the upper portion,
The blower mounting device includes a mounting support portion (60), a mounting frame (40), and a blower mounting bracket (50),
the mounting support portion (60) is attached so as to rise upward from the first fastening means (13) and is attached to a lower portion of the mounting frame (40) to support the lower portion;
The mounting frame (40) is a frame-shaped member whose upper portion is attached to the second fastening means (15) and whose lower portion is attached to the mounting support portion (60),
The blower mounting bracket (50) is attached to a blower mounting bracket base (47) provided on the lower frame (45) of the mounting frame (40), and is a member for removably mounting the blower (30). The snow plow is mounted on the front of a vehicle,
2. A snowplow-mounted blower mounting attachment as described in claim 1, characterized in that the blower mounting bracket (50) is attached to the snowplow side of the mounting frame (40) so that, when the blower (30) is mounted, the air outlet (31) of the blower (30) protrudes from the mounting frame (40) to the front side of the snowplow . 3. The snow plow-mounted blower mounting attachment according to claim 2 , wherein a vibration-isolating rubber (70) capable of coming into contact with the plow is attached to the blower mounting bracket (50) . A snow plow for removing snow, the snow plow having a first fastening means (13) for fastening a snow shovel plate (12) attached to a lower portion and a second fastening means (15) for fastening a rubber plate (14) attached to an upper portion;
An engine-powered, rechargeable, or electric blower (30) for blowing off objects on the road surface to clean it;
a snow plow-mounted blower mounting attachment for mounting the blower (30) on a front surface of the snow plow;
The snow plow-mounted blower mounting attachment includes a mounting support portion (60), a mounting frame (40), and a blower mounting bracket (50),
the mounting support portion (60) is attached so as to rise upward from the first fastening means (13) and is attached to a lower portion of the mounting frame (40) to support the lower portion;
The mounting frame (40) is a frame-shaped member whose upper portion is attached to the second fastening means (15) and whose lower portion is attached to the mounting support portion (60),
The blower mounting bracket (50) is attached to a blower mounting bracket base (47) provided on a lower frame (45) of the mounting frame (40), and is a member for removably mounting the blower (30). Vehicles and
A snow plow for removing snow, the snow plow having a first fastening means (13) for fastening a snow shovel plate (12) attached to a lower portion and a second fastening means (15) for fastening a rubber plate (14) attached to an upper portion;
An engine-powered, rechargeable, or electric blower (30) for blowing off objects on the road surface to clean it;
a snow plow-mounted blower mounting attachment for mounting the blower (30) on a front surface of the snow plow;
The snow plow-mounted blower mounting attachment includes a mounting support portion (60), a mounting frame (40), and a blower mounting bracket (50),
the mounting support portion (60) is attached so as to rise upward from the first fastening means (13) and is attached to a lower portion of the mounting frame (40) to support the lower portion;
The mounting frame (40) is a frame-shaped member whose upper portion is attached to the second fastening means (15) and whose lower portion is attached to the mounting support portion (60),
The blower mounting bracket (50) is attached to a blower mounting bracket base (47) provided on a lower frame (45) of the mounting frame (40), and is a member for removably mounting the blower (30).