US2858625A

US2858625A - Material removal unit for selfpropelled vehicle

Info

Publication number: US2858625A
Application number: US422504A
Authority: US
Inventors: Rivinius Theodore
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1954-04-12
Filing date: 1954-04-12
Publication date: 1958-11-04
Anticipated expiration: 1975-11-04

Description

Nov. 4, 1958 T. RIVINIUS MATERIAL REMOVAL UNIVT FOR SELF-PROPELLED VEHICLE Filed April- 12. 1954 FIG. 1

IIIIIII i IIIIIIIIIIII ||I|||||||||| 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Invenor: Theodore Rvinius B, www@ I his Attorney T. RIVINIUS Nov. -4, 195s MATERIAL REMOVAL UNIT FOR SELF-PROPELLED VEHICLE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 12. 1954 l Invenvor: Theodore Rivinius C'z/I/LQ By MM his A1 torney T. RlvlNlUs 2,858,625

MATERIAL REMOVAL UNIT EOE sELE-PRoPELLED VEHICLE Nov. 4, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April l2. 1.954

Inventor: Theodore Rivinus FIG. 5

his Atorney nited States Patent MATERIAL-REMOVAL kUNIT Eon SELF- PRoPELLEDk VEHICLE This invention relates to material removalV ,units for self-propelled vehicles and particularly to removal units in which a scraper blade scrapes snow or other covering material fromasurface and directs it to arotary impeller, vthe impeller then discharging the material at an elevated level and in a controlled direction.

Removal of surface-covering material, such as snow, heretofore has been accomplished by special machines ormore generally by temporarily mounting ysnow plows or scraper blades on trucks, tractors orl other selfpropelled vehicles, including road making machines. In areas in whichthe snowfall is heavy it is not uncommon to provide the vehicles with a combined s now plow and blower, so that the snow scrapedup from the roadway may either beblown off the road orloaded into a waiting truck. However, in such cases, the plow or scraper, as well asthe blower, have all been specially designed'and requiredvto be applied as a unit to the. prime mover.` By this invention the need for a specially designed plow or scraper blade is eliminated and a conventional scraper blade is madethe plow or scraper of `a snow removal unit, thus adapting aconventional road making machine, such asa motor grader for the, removal of snow or other covering material with a minimum of Vmodification and without impairment of normal use of they `scraper blade for grading.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a blower attachment. removably attachable u to a conventional scraper blade mounted onpa self-propelled vehicle, which, when attached, discharges material'scraped up by the scraper blade at an elevated level and when removed, permits use of the scraper blade as a surface grader.

Another object of the invention is, to provide a material removal unit fork self-propelled vehicles which is capable of dischargingmaterial at anelevated level and in which the blower` attachment is so mounted as to benmovable with the scraper blade through limited horizontal `or vertical angling of the latter, whereby the force of discharge of material to the blower attachment may be varied and `the unit may alsobe adjusted to the contour of the surface being cleared.l

A further object of the invention is to provide a ysnow removal unit for selfpropelled vehicles wherein a blower attachment is mounted towards and blocks thevdischarge end of the scrapervblade with the axis of its rotary impeller substantially parallel to the blade,vwhereby a substantially straight-line feed of material to the impeller is obtained with consequent eciency in the operation'of the unit.

' An additional object of the invention is torprovidean improved material removal unit for self-propelled vehiicles wherein the blower attachment,l while mounted toward the discharge end `of the scraper blade, is so arrangedAv and constructed as to be able to load the removed material jinto a truck infront or to either side the motorgradenbr, to blow itoff either side ofthe roadway.

A further object of the invention'is to provide an irnproved snow removal unit for self-propelled vehicles fini rlC

2 wherein the rotary impeller is driven Aolfthe. main power unit of the vehicle by a hydraulic drive through a exible connection, thereby enabling the impeller to be shifted in positionrelative tofthe vehicle without interferingwith the operation of the unit. i Another object of the invention is to provide a material removal unit foruself-propelled 'vehicles'wherein `the rotary impeller and'diseharge chute are of such construction and arrangementasl to prevent the material from packing about the impeller and discharge the material by centrifugal forcev through :the chute. V

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particu'- larly pointedout in the appended claims and be illu# strated in the accompanying drawings, in which;v f

Figure 1 is a side elevational view 'ofa motor grader illustrating a preferred form of the material removal unit of the present invention. f i

Figure '2 is a qschematic view of the hydraulic drive by which the vrotary impeller of the unit may be driven oli the motorV of the motor grader.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view on 'an enlarged scale of the blower attachment of the unit,` showing its relation to the scraper bladeand blade circle. Figure 4 is a rear elevational view taken parallel to the plane of the scraper blade, with portions of the blade and associated structure broken away 'and shown in phantom' to more clearly illustrate certain of the details of construction. i

Figure 5 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the outer `end of the attachment'of Figure 4. Figure 6 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the blower attachment of Figure 4 taken from the inner end of the attachment and with the scraper blade and associ ated structureA shown inrphantom'to'more clearly illustrate certain ofthe details of construction. Y Figure 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view o an enlarged scale substantially onl f the lines 77-of -Figure 5. Figure 8. is a fragmentary side elevational view'of vthe upper. portionpof the blower attachment with the hood shown atmaximum extension; and Figure 9 is a fragmentaryvertical sectional viewtaken along the lines 9,--9 of Figure 8.

Referring now in detail vto the drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts, the material .re moval unit of the presentninvention is applicable to self,-` propelledvehicles and in its illustrated embodiment is particularly designedv fora motor gradervof the type now in common use for road grading, the particulartype shown being a No. 12 dieselmotor grader,y made by the Caterpillar Tractor Co. and illustrated in its 1951 catalog. Since conventional,` the motor grader has been shown in dot-and-dashline, v"except yfor the elementsl which are part ofthe rsnow removal'nit, and only such'portions of "it will be'r'eferred to as having bearing upon and areV necessary' to the understanding of this invention.

As lbest `shown in Figures 1 and 3,'th'e`motor grader is comprised of front and rear wheels 1 and 2, respectively, supporting a frame 3,v the latter in turn supportingat its rear a main motor or propulsion unit 4, forwardly ofl which are positioned the drivers seat and controls. vIn'- termediate the front and rear wheels 1 and ZIthe frame 3v is arched and therebelowrsupports a triangular subframe or blade drawbar 5 on a pair of crank lifts 6, the drawbar also beingswivelly connected at its front endto the mainframe I3 adjacent the front wheels, 1. Suspended from and directly supported on the drawbar 5 is aninternally toothed blade circle or'ring gear 7 which normally may be rotated'through afull 360 about itsY axis, usually vertical, by a pinion 8 driven off the motor 4, Below the circle 5 and rigidly connected thereto by blade beams 9, integral or rigid with the blade circle is a conventional or standard scraper blade 10, the blade through its rigid mounting being rotatable with the circle `about its rotative axis and also being settable at Various angles relative to the horizontal through one or the other of the crank lifts 6.v

AAs described, the motor grader is adapted for road and like grading, the scraper blade then usually facing forward and disposed at a particular angular setting or diagonal transversely of the frame 3 of the motor grader best suited for removal of the surface material. In such operation the surface material is pushed to the side by the angle of the blade and there left in windrows, the latter, if necessary, later being removed by suitable loaders or pushed further to the side on a subsequent pass ofthe motor grader. Particularly when removing snow that is deep or on city streets, and often with other surface covering materials such as sand, gravel or dirt, windrowing Iis unsatisfactory. Resort in such cases has `tglreiefore been had either to subsequent removal of the windrows by separate loaders or to removal units capable of removing and kdischarging the material at an elevated level i'n one operation. It is to such a material removing unit that the present invention is particularly directed, and for the conversion to such a unit of the standard scraper blade V10 of the illustrated motor grader by a blower attachment, that the disclosed embodiment of the invention is particularly designed. ,The b lower attachment, designated generally as 11, is comprised of a partly cylindrical housing or 4casing 12, housing a rotary impeller or rotor 13, the housing being closed at its outer end 14 and having an open inner end 15, theopenl inner end or opening 15 preferably extending to a pointfsomewhat above the axle 16 of the impeller and the housing being closed thereabove by a cover plate 17. Oiset towards one side of the cylindrical portion 18 and-upstanding from the housing is a discharge chute or tube 19, having as its lower part a stack or extension 2,0 and as its upper part a spout or nozzle 21. The stack 20 is rigid with and extends or projects .substantially vertically above the housing and, adjacent its upper end, has a rim or outstanding anular flange -22 surmounted by the spout.y As shown in'Figure 9, the spout 21 overlaps the upper end of the chute 19 of the housing and is supported on they rim 22, being connected thereto by suitable means such as the illustrated inturned orreentrant flanges or clips 23, so as to hold the spout 1n assembled relation while permitting its full rotation relative to the stack 20. Directed vertically over its I lower portion, the spout thereabove bends or curves away from the vertical, preferably through an arc of some 90. Open on its inner or concave side over its upper portion, the open upper end 24 of the spout, thus, is substantially horizontally directed.

-For further control of the direction of .material passing through the spout, there is preferably provided a hood or deector 25 having the curvature of the upper end portion of the spout and telescopingly mounted thereover, as by straps 26 hinged to angle brackets 27 fixed to the spout. With the hood 25 serving as an extension of thespout 21, material passing through the latter can be directed horizontally or downwardly at different angles, depending upon the disposition of the hood relative to the spout. It will be noted that the weight of the spout and hood rests on the rim 22 of the stack 20 and that the hood has a sliding lit vwith the upper portion of the spout. The consequent frictional resistance to relative movement of these members serves to maintain them in positions in which they vare set without need for ex.-A t'raneous locking means. It is, however, desirable to providesome means for limiting the extent of outward swinging of the hoodrelative to the spout and this is here accomplished by the provision. 01.1 The. O11@ 0f Ehe' Cil . r4.y straps 26 of a stop lug 28 engageable with the angle bracket 27 at the outermost position of the hood.

The casing 12 and associated structure, above described, are designed to be attached to the scraper blade 10 adjacent or toward the rear or discharge end thereof and usually will be attached at the right-hand side of the motor grader, as in the illustrated embodiment, so as not to obstruct the roadway being cleared. Positioned so that the open end 15 of the cylindrical portion 17 of the casing faces inwardly toward the front or feed end of the scraper blade and with the rotative axis of the impeller 13 disposed substantially parallel to the scraper blade, the blower `attachment 11 is tted about the open end of the casing with a skirt 29 preferably of welded box construction and having as its inner edge an inclined cutting edge 3i), preferably coplanar with the cutting edge 31 of the blade. In line with the preferred disposition of the impeller axis relative to the blade, the inner face 32 of the skirt 29 towards its outer or forward end is substantially normal to the scraper blade 10. Connecting this forward portion of the skirt to the blade, is a guide or deector plate or sheet 33 formingk part of the inner face 32 of the skirt 29 and conforming along its rear edge 34 to the curvature of the front face 35 of the blade. Directed obliquely or diagonally to both' the scraper blade and the forward portion of the skirt and either flat or, as shown, concavely curved, the guide plate 33 effectively prevents entrapment of any snow or other material at the juncture of the skirt and scraper blade and directs the material through the opening 15 to the impeller 13.

The mounting of the blower attachment 11 on the motor grader has two main objectives; one, to minimize modification of the scraper blade, and the other tok permit maximum possible angling or change in the diagonality of the scraper blade 10 relative to the longitudinal axis of the motor grader, so as to permit this'angle to be varied in accordance with the condition of `the roadway and force with which material is desired`to be fed to the impeller 13. To these ends the blower attachment is applied to the front face 35 of the scraper? blade, ad-

jacent the rear or discharge end of the latter and clear of the blade circle 7 and associated structure and is removably mounted on or attached to these members by bolting through a supporting or bracing'frarnework 36. This framework is comprised at the bottom of a transversely extending rib or ange 37 Welded Vor otherwise rigid with the casing 12 and its skirt 29, and comforming and bolted to the cutting edge 31 of the blade. Connected to the outer end of this ange 37 is one of the uprights 38 of an outrigger`39, the upright conforming and being bolted to the front face 35 of the scraper blade at approximately its rear or discharge end.

The remainder of the framework 36, all of which may conveniently be made of structural shapes and sheets welded together, includes a stiffening or reinforcing arm or brace 40 extending laterally inwardly from the side of the housing 12 removed from the scraper blade and on the level of the blade circle 7, this arm ending in a pair of vertically spaced ingers 41 straddling the circle and bolted thereto by bolts 42 and seating in interstices 43 between the teeth 44 of the blade circle. A further connection between the framework 36 of the blower attachment and the blade circle 7, preferably is made' by a second stifening or reinforcing arm or brace, spaced from the rst, which may be in the form of an angle iron 45 xed at one end to the casing 12 and, at the other, bolted to the circle, again using one of the interstices 43 as a bolt seat.

Witlrthe blower attachment thus connected at two spaced points to the blade circle by the

arms

40 and 45 and to both the lower and outer edges of the scraper blade 10, it is evident that the attachment, when mounted,

is adequately supported by and substantially rigid with ion 8. The blade is, of course, not capable'of its `full normal rotation, lnor is such rotation desired sincethe upstanding portions of the blower would not then clear the frame 3 of the motor grader. However, even using certain of the interstices 43 `in the blade circle 7 as bolt seats and thus preventing engagementA of the pinion 8 with the adjoining teeth 44, it will be seen that the disposition of the bolts 42 attaching the arm 40 to lthe blade circle relative to the pinion 8 is such that the blade can still be rotated to a position substantially normal to the frame 3 of the motor grader and, in the opposite direction, turn to a considerably greater angle than that shown in the drawings. Consequently, the scraper blade, though limited in its arcuate movement by the presence of the blower attachment is angleable about the axis of the blade circle through a suflicient arc to enable the 4force of discharge of material by the blade to be varied over a wide range. At the same time, the crank lifts 6 enable the blade circle 7 and, therethrough, both scraper blade and blower attachment, to be angled vertically, as necessary, to adjust the removal unit to the contour of the surface being cleared.

Of importance in the efficient operation of the blower attachment are the construction of the impeller 13 and the disposition relative to it of the chute 19. One diiculty previously encountered with impellers in blowers for snow and like material has been the packing of the material between the impeller blades and the casing, and another that to provide suicient force to both lift the snow or like material and to expel it into a truck or olf the side of the road, it has usually been deemed necessary to utilize blades of aerodynamic curvative and consequent expense. In the attachment of the present invention it has 'been found possible, as a result of the disposition of the impeller 13 relative to the scraper blade 10 and of the chute 19 relative to the housing 12, to employ an impeller of inexpensive but rugged construction and high eflciency in operation. It has been mentioned that the axis of the impeller is substantially parallel to the scraper blade. This produces a substantially straight-line feed through the open end 15 of the casing 12 into the impeller chamber 46. The impeller then rotating in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 6I carries the snow towards the chute 19. The chute, in turn, is offset relative to the casing 12 towards the lift side ofthe impeller 13 in which the impeller is exerting a lifting action.

Connected by and open to the impellerchamber 46 `through an upwardly tapered throat 47 substantially covering or including the upper right-hand quadrant of the chamber and with its rear wall 48 adjacent the scraper blade 10 substantially vertical and tangential to theperiphery of the chamber, the chute 19 is disposed to utilize the centrifugal force exerted by the impeller to lift and expel the snow. The impeller acting thus more as a pump than as a blower, need only be provided with blades capable of applying the necessary centrifugal force. Consequently, the aerodynamically curved blades of the conventional blower may here be replaced by a plurality of at blades or fins 49 anchored, as by riveting, through integral inturned feet 50, to a circular backing or rotor disc or plate 51 which is `disposed toward the outer closed end 14 of the chamber 46 and is keyed for rotation to the impeller shaft 16. Arranged radially about the shaft and extending inwardly normal to the backing disc 51, the blades 49 carry the snow or other material upwards from the lower portion of the impeller chamber and, as they pass the open throat 47 of the chute, eject the material by centrifugal force therethrough. So constructed, the snow removal unit of the present invention is able to handle directly, inaddition tosnow, sand, gravel, dirt or like granular or readily pulverizedmaterial. It may also be adapted to handle black-top or like paving, it then only being necessary to inject into the unit suitable pulverizing means, either in addition to or in place of the impeller,

6 taking the form in the latter case of a combined pulverizer and impeller.

It will be noted that the backing disc 51and blades 49 are substantially coterminous, radially, with the cylindrical impeller chamber 46, thus preventing packing of the snow beyond the tips of the blades, the backing plate serving to prevent the snow from packing between the fan and the closed end of the casing. The cover plate 17 closing the upper portion of the open end of the chamber contains the snow within the casing over the area in which it is impelled or ejected by the blades into the chute.

With the force exerted by the impeller 13 sufficient to lift or elevate the snow or other material being handled through the stack 20 to the elevated level of the open end 24 of the spout 21, and throw it a considerable distance horizontallyfrorn the spout, the distance depending upon the speed of the impeller, the blowerfattachment is capable of expelling the material off the side of the road above the level of a snow or other bank or of loading the material on a truck running at either side or in front of the motor grader, the direction of ejection from the spout being controlled by the corresponding position ofthe spout relative tothe chute and the hood 25 relative to the spout.

One complication posed by the horizontal and vertical maneuverability of the combinedblade and blower attachment is the drive of the impeller 13. As shown in Figure 7, the ends of the shaft or axle 16 of the impeller are journaled in bearings 52, one suspended from the box-shaped-cover plate 17 closing the upper portion of the otherwise open end 15 of the impeller chamber 46, and the other supported outwardly of the housing on the framework 36. The motor 53 and gearing 54 for driving the impeller are also mounted outside the casing 12 on the framework 36. Subjected to rugged treatment in service because of the extreme conditions under which it is called upon to operate and also required to rotate with the casing as the later angles with the scraper blade 10, a motor ideally suited for driving the impeller 13, and the one here contemplated is a hydraulic motor which may conveniently be driven olf the main drive motor 4-by a hydraulic pump 55 stationarily mounted on the frame 3 of the motor grader, the pump and motor being connected by piping whichmay be rigid to a point forwardly of the rear wheels` 2 of the motor grader and, thereafter, is flexible hosing 56 with sufficient slack to accommodate a range of movement of the hydraulic motor 53 as it rotates with the scraper blade 10.

As shown diagrammatically in Figure 2, the hydraulic pump `55 may be connected at its inlet end to an oil reservoir 57 and at its outlet end to the feed-line 58 to the hydraulic motor 53, the return line 59 from the latter feeding back into the reservoir to complete the circuit. For controlling the operation of the pump a control valve 60 is positioned in the vfeed-line 58 intermediate its ends,0 the control valve being operable by a Valve lever 61 accessible to the driver and being connected to va. by-pass 62 between the feed and return

lines

58 and 59, `thr ough which the oil flows when the hydraulic motor 53 is stopped'andthe main motor 4 stillV running. There is preferably a second by-pass 63 in the line, this between the pump 5,5 and reservoir 57 on theoutlet side of the pump. This line isvnorrnally closed by a relief valve 64, but is open for byfpassingof both the control valve 60 and the hydraulic motor 53 when the pressure in the feed-line 58 exceeds a predetermined amount.

Fromthe above detaileddescription it will'be apparent thatthere has been providedan improved snow removal unit, the blower attachment ofA which may be attached to thestandard scraper blade of a road or like machine, and when applied to the blade of arnotor grader for which it is particularly designed may be rotated with the blade as aunit about a substantially vertical axis for varying the pitch of the blade, ancl-l thus the force with which the snow is driven to the impeller of the blower attachment, the blade and attachment also being angle-- able relative to the horizontal by the crank liftsr to con-- form to the contour ofthe surface being cleared. Suit-- able for manufacture from structural shapes and stamp-- ings and driven by a practically trouble-free power take- .otf from the main drive, the blower attachment, despite its versatility is economical in both manufacture .and operation and, since detachably mounted, may be readily' removed, then restoring the motor grader to condition. for normal operation. It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included which do not depart either from the spirit. of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

l. The combination with a self-propelled vehicle, of' a scraper blade rotatable about a substantially vertical. axis relative to said vehicle, a casing connected to said scraper blade toward the discharge end'and opening toward the feed end thereof, said casing being rotatable with said scraper blade on rotation thereof, a discharge chute supported on and upstanding from said casing, a rotary impeller in said casing and open to receive ma terial discharged thereinto by said scraper blade and means for rotating said` scraper blade through a limited arc and thereby varying the force of discharge of said material from said scraper blade to said impeller.

2. The combination with a self-propelled vehicle, of a scraper blade carried by and disposed transversely of' said vehicle and rotatable about a vertical axis relative thereto, a casing connected to said scraper blade toward the discharge end and opening toward the feed end thereof, a discharge chute upstanding from said casing, a rotary impeller in said casing and rotating about an axis substantially parallel to said scraper blade, a motor carried by said blade and casing for driving said impeller, and means on said casing and conforming to the front face of said scraper blade for directing material discharged by said scraper blade to said impeller,

3. The combination with a motor grader having a scraper blade disposed transversely thereof and rotatable about a vertical axis relative thereto, of a blower attachment for adapting said motor grader to discharge material at an elevated level, said attachment comprising a casing, a discharge chute rigid with and upstanding from said casing, a rotary impeller in said casing, and motor means for driving said impeller, said casing, chute, impeller and motor means being removably attachable as a unit to said blade toward the discharge end thereof and on `attachment being rotatable therewith.

4. The combination with a self-propelled vehicle having a transversely disposed scraper blade carried by a rotatable blade circle, of a casing connected to said blade toward ,the-discharge end thereof and carried with said blade by' said blade circle, a rotary impeller in said casing, said impeller opening onto and rotating about an axis substantially parallel to said scraper blade, a dischargel chute supported on and upstanding from said casing and open to and overlying the lift side of said impeller, and means on said casing conforming and disposed angularly relative to the front .face of said blade for directing material therefrom to said impeller, said impeller discharging said material by centrifugal force to an -elevated level through said chute.

5. The combination with a self-propelled vehicle, of a scraper Iblade carried by and rotatable about a substantially vertical axis relative to said vehicle, a casing connected to said scraper blade toward the discharge end thereof and rotatable in a limited arc therewith, a dischargechute upstanding from and carried by said casing, a rotary impeller in said casing and opening toward the feed end of said scraper blade, means for rotating said blade through said arcv and thereby varying the force Yof discharge vof material bygsaidscraperblade Vto said impeller, a hydraulic motor connected to and v blade Ycircle rotatable about its axis relative to said motor grader and a .scraper blade carried by and rotatable with said blade circle, of a blower attachment for adapting said motor grader to discharge material at an elevated level, said attachment comprising a casing, a discharge chute supported on and upstanding from said casing, a rotary impeller in said casing, a framework fixed to said casing, and motor means supported on said framework for driving said impeller, said attachment being removably attachable through said casing and framework to said blade circle and scraper blade toward the discharge end of said scraper blade and on attachment being rotatable through a limited arc with its circle and blade for varying the force of discharge of material by said blade to said impeller.

7. The combination with a motor grader having a blade circle rotatable about its axis relative to said motor grader and a scraper blade carried by and rotatable with said blade circle, of a blower attachment for adapting said motor grader to discharge material at an elevated level, said attachment comprising a casing having an opening in one end thereof, a rotary impeller in said opening, deector means on said casing conformable to the front face of said blade and directed toward said opening, a discharge chute supported on and upstanding from said casing, a framework rigid with said casing, and motor means supported on said framework, said attachment being removably attachable as a unit through said casing and framework to said blade circle and blade toward the discharge end of said blade and on attachment being rotatable in a limited arc therewith.

8. The combination with a motor grader having a blade circle rotatable about its axis relative to said motor grader and a scraper blade carried by and rotatable with said blade circle, of a blower attachment for adapting said motor grader to discharge material at an elevated level, said attachment comprising a casing having an opening in one end thereof, a rotary impeller in said opening, deflector means on said casing conformable to the front face of said blade and directed toward said opening, a chute supported on and upstanding from and rotatable about a substantially vertical axis relative to said casing, a framework rigid with said casing, and motor means supported on said framework, said attachment being removably attachable as a unit through said casing and frame work to said blade circle and blade toward the discharge end of said blade and on attachment being rotatable in a limited arc therewith.

9. The combination with a motor grader having a blade circle rotatable about its axis relative to said motor grader and a scraper blade carried by and rotatable with said blade circle, of a blower attachment for adapting said motor grader to discharge material at an elevated level, i

said attachment comprising a casing having an opening in one end thereof, a rotary impeller in said opening, deflector means on said casing conformable to the front face of said blade and directed toward said opening, a discharge stack rigid with and upstanding from said casmg, aspout surmounting and rotatable about a substantially vertical axis relative to said stack, said spout above said stack curving away from said axis, a hood conforming in curvature with and hingedly attached to said upper portion of said spout and telescopingly adjustable relative thereto for varying the angle of discharge therefrom, a framework rigid with said casing, and motor means supported on said framework, said attachment being removably lattachable as a unit through said casing and framework to said blade circle and blade toward the discharge end of said blade and on attachment being rotatable in a limited arc therewith.

10. The combination with a self-propelled vehicle having a scraper blade disposed transversely thereof and rotatable about a substantially vertical axis, of a casing connected to said scraper blade toward the discharge end thereof and rotatable therewith, said casing extending forwardly substantially normal to said scraper blade and having an opening facing toward the feed end of said scraper blade, a rotary impeller in said casing Within said opening and rotatable about an axis substantially parallel to said scraper blade, means connected to said casing for driving said impeller, deecting means on said casing and conforming at one end to the frontvface of said scraper blade for directing material therefrom into said opening, and a discharge chute upstanding from said casing for discharging at a higher level material impelled therethrough by said impeller.

l1. The combination with a self-propelled vehicle having a transversely extending scraper blade rotatable about a substantially vertical axis, of a casing attached to said scraper blade toward the discharge end thereof and rotatable therewith, said casing having an opening facing toward the feed end of said scraper blade, a rotary impeller in said casing within said opening, said impeller including a circular disc removed from said opening, a plurality of flat blades arranged radially about and xed to said disc and extending normal thereto toward said opening, said impeller being journaled in said casing for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to said blade, means connected to said casing for driving said impeller, a discharge chute upstanding from said casing and open to and overlying the lift side of said impeller, and deflecting means onsaid casing and conforming at its rear end and disposed angularly relative to said scraper blade for directing material discharged therefrom into said opening, said impeller impelling material discharged thereto by said scraper blade through said chute by centrifugal force.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Garland May 27, 1952