US3588155A - Sanding hopper - Google Patents

Abstract

THE SANDING APPARATUS COMPRISES AT LEAST ONE STORAGE HOPPER WHICH IS REMOVABLY MOUNTED ON AN ATTACHMENT FRAME ON THE FRONT OF A VEHICLE AND HAS SANDING CHUTES LOCATED DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF BEFORE THE FRONT WHEELS OF THE VEHICLE. THE HOPPER IS PREFERABLY PROVIDED WITH SUPPORT LEGS AND IS CONNECTED TO A SUSPENSION FRAME BY MEANS OF PIVOTAL LEVERS CONTROLLED BY A HYDRAULIC OR PNEUMATIC JACK.

Description

United States Patent Inventor Walter Hirt St. Blaslen/Black Forest. Germany Appl No 794,499 Filed Jan. 28, 1969 Patented June 28, 1971 Assignee lng. Schmidt, Alfred Blasien/Black Forest, Germany Priority Feb. 24, 1968 Germany P 16 55 214.0

SANDING HOPPER 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

u.s.c1 291/1, 222/113, 222/176, 222/538, 291/38 I111. (31 B60b 39/04,

B61C 15/10, 867d 5/64 [50] FleldolSearch 291/1,3, 38, 39,222/173, 176, 538

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,745,705 2/1930 Nordquist 291/38X 1,973,083 9/1934 Levorchick et a1. 291/39X 3,399,917 9/1968 McLean 1. 291/38X Primary ExaminerArthur L. LaPoint Assistant Examiner-Howard Beltran Anomey Nolte and Nolte ABSTRACT: The sanding apparatus comprises at least one storage hopper which is removably mounted on an attachment frame on the front ofa vehicle and has sanding chutes located directly in front of before the front wheels of the vehicle. The hopper is preferably provided with support legs and is connected to a suspension frame by means of pivotal levers controlled by a hydraulic or pneumatic jack.

PATENTEUJUH28|97I 3,588,155

W .IHlh/ |NVENTOR WALTER HIRT Mid/06 ATTORNEYS SANDING HOPPER The present invention relates to an automatic sanding apparatus which is attachable to street vehicles for spreading granulated or pulverized material onto slippery roads. More particularly, the present invention relates to a sanding apparatus having at least one hopper for storing the granulated material and two sanding chutes, one being provided for each track of the vehicle.

In prior art apparatus of this type, small sanding devices have been fixedly disposed in front of the rear wheels of cargo trucks. Such small strewing equipment was designed merely to facilitate the starting and braking of the vehicle on icy ground, with the disadvantage that, because of their limited capacity, they are unable to spread material over a larger area and over a longer distance.

Another disadvantage of such apparatus results from the fact that, due to the location thereof near the rear wheels of the vehicle, it has no influence on the steering of the vehicle on slippery roads.

In another type of sanding apparatus, the discharging means have been arranged on the sides of the vehicle and provided with centrifugal sanding drums in order to ensure an increased spreading range. However, even these devices cannot spread the granulated material far enough to reach the surface area in front of the front wheels of the vehicle.

The object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a automatic sanding apparatus which simply and efficiently distributes granulated loose material both to the steering and to the driving wheels.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanding apparatus which can be easily attached to a carrier vehicle and readily dismounted, if so desired.

A further object of the present invention is to insure that the vehicle be able to safely operate on icy nonsanded roads.

The aforementioned objects are attained by adapting a conventional sanding apparatus to be disconnectably mountable to an attachment frame arranged at the front ofa vehicle and which when mounted thereon and will direct the sanding material before the front wheels. The apparatus is coupled to the attachment frame by easily releasable coupling elements so that it can be rapidly exchanged for another type of attachment, such as a snowplough, for example, without the employment of auxiliary equipment which hcretofor has been necessary for this purpose.

In order to further simplify the mounting and dismounting of the sanding apparatus of this invention, the coupling or suspension elements for engaging the attachment frame of the vehicle are designed in such a manner as to be able to adjust themselves in height with respect to that frame. For this reason the sanding apparatus has a parallelogram linkage system coupled to a suspension frame and a hydraulic or pneumatic jack pivotably mounted between an elevated portion of the frame and the lower link. The jack can be coupled by a flexible and extensible hose to a remote power source, for example, a compressor within the vehicle.

Prior to the mounting of the sanding apparatus on the attachment frame, the flexible hose of the pneumatic jack is first connected to the compressor. Subsequently, the jack is activated to elevate the linkage with the suspension frame to a height which is suitable and convenient for the attachment. As soon as the suspension frame is mounted on the attachment frame, the entire sanding apparatus can be lifted up from the ground by the jack without any manual operation and set at a level suitable for the spreading operation. The dismounting process of the apparatus is accomplished similarly in the reverse order of the respective steps.

The sanding apparatus can be designed with a single storage hopper having two sanding chutes directed toward corresponding paths in front of the steering wheels of the vehicle. It is, of course, possible to provide separate storage hoppers, each with a single chute for its respective path.

The sanding chutes can be equipped with output control members which enable the operator, during the travel of the vehicle, to adjust the sanding rate to the actual road conditions. These control members can be in the form of a simple valve or shutter disposed within the chute and controlled by means ofa Bowden cable from the driver's cab.

It is also possible to dispose a revolving worm within the discharge chute of the hopper and to regulate the amount of spread material by varying the speed of rotation of the worm.

The automatic sanding apparatus according to this invention is particularly suitable for employment with street maintenance vehicles designed for spreading loose material on slippery roads. It insures that the vehicle will be able to operate safely on icy roads which have not yet been covered with a protective layer of granulated material. By contrast, conventional sanding arrangements having centrifugal sanding drums for covering the entire surface area of the road from the rear or lateral sides of the vehicle cannot attain the aforementioned results.

The present invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the two preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematical side elevation ofa sanding apparatus according to this invention in connection with a cargo truck;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the arrangement of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a modification of the apparatus of FIG. 1 having self-supporting suspension means; and

FIG. 4 is the apparatus of FIG. 3 with automatically elevated suspension means shown prior to the attachment thereof to a vehicle.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a cargo truck 1 having at the front side thereofa conventional articulated attachment frame 2. According to this invention, the automatic sanding apparatus 3 is suspended on the front attachment frame 2 and has two storage tanks or hoppers 4 and 5 containing the granulated material to be spread onto the road. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, each hopper has at its bottom a discharge chute 6 directed toward a path before the front wheels of the truck 1.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a variation in the structure for mounting the automatic sanding apparatus of this invention. To facilitate the attachment of the apparatus to the vehicle, the hopper 4 is adjustably coupled to a suspension frame 7 by means of a parallelogram linkage 8 and 9. The suspension frame 7 is provided with an upwardly projecting member 7a which is pivotally connected via a hydraulic or pneumatic jack 10 to the lower arm 9 of the linkage. The hopper 4 is further equipped with supporting legs 11 and 12 which maintain the upright position of the apparatus when disengaged from the vehicle. As seen in FIG. 4, the vertical adjustment of an articulated or suspension frame 7 can be effected automatically by the aid of expandable hose or flexible conduit 13 which is coupled between the pneumatic jack l0 and a remote power source, such as a compressor within the vehicle 1. Due to the parallelogram connection of the pivotal linkage 3 and 9, the lifting action ofjack 10 can vertically displace the suspension frame 7 up to the upper level of attachment frame 2. Subsequently, the vehicle 1 is moved toward the suspension frame and the latter can be fastened or hooked up on the attachment frame by engaging the suspension frame hook 7b with the top of said frame. By further action of the jack, the hopper 4 may be lifted and adjusted into its proper working position above the road surface with the legs I1, 12 being sufficiently spaced from said surface to avoid the danger of contacting the road surface or obstructions thereon.

I claim:

1. A sanding hopper device for spreading pulverized material on the road surface in the track of vehicle wheels, including fastening means releasably connecting said device with a vehicle to support the hopper device, articulated frame means on said hopper device for supporting said device on a substantially horizontal surface when said device is disengaged from the vehicle, power means which changes the altitude of said fastening means whereby said hopper device can be engaged with the vehicle, and said power means spacing said hopper device from the road surface when said hopper device is engaged with the vehicle whereby the hopper device will not contact the road surface or obstacles thereon when the vehicle is moved along the road surface.

2. A device according to claim 1, where said articulated frame comprises. a parallelogram linkage including upper and lower arm means adjustably coupling said hopper device to said articulated frame means and jack means pivotally coupled between the upper portion of said articulated frame means and said lower arm means, whereby the displacement of said jack means will change the altitude of said fastening means when said device is being supported on a horizontal surface and will change the altitude of said hopper device

Images