US2168866A - Snow-removing device - Google Patents

Description

J. GEHL SNOW REMOVING DEVICE Aug. 8, 1939 2 sneets-s'heet'l Filed April 8, 1937 INVENTOR JOHN GEHL ATTORNEYS Patented 8, 1939 UNi'l'E-D STATES.

PATENT, orrlce 1 Claim.

One of the primary objects of my invention is to provide a snow removing machine having means for scraping up the snow, and novel means operated from the engine of the pushing vehicle for blowing the snow to one side or the other of the machine and completely out of the path of the machine, whereby to effectively reduce the strain on the machine and to permit the rapid handling of the snow.

Another salient object of my inventionis to provide a pushing vehicle, suchas a tractor, with a snow removing device thereon, embodying a casing arranged transversely of the machine having an open front portion or mouth carrying a scraper blade for directing the snow into said mouth, and a rotary blower in said casing for breaking up the snow and for throwing the snow. through a blower pipe, which can be directed to either side of the machine, as may be desired. A further object of my invention is to provide a machine of the above character, which can be compactly built, whereby the same can be effectively used for cleaning sidewalks and the like. A still further object of my invention is to provide a sidewalk snow removing machine inand a guide handle having the various controlling devices thereon, whereby the movement of the belts and the operation of the snow removing device can be conveniently manipulated by the operator.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more specifically described, claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved machine for removing snow from sidewalks, crosswalks, and the like, parts of the view being shown broken away and in section.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the machine for removing snow from sidewalks, parts of this view being also shown broken away and in section.

Figure 3 is an enlarged, detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, illustrating a preferred drive arrangement.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary, side elevation view, with'parts thereof broken away and in section, showing my snow removing device mounted upon a large or riding tractor.

Figure 5 is a detail, transverse sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4, illustrating a part of the adjusting mechanism for the snow removing device. I 6

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein 5 similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter S generally indicates my snow removing machine, which has been particularly designed flor clearing long stretches of sidewalks and the As illustrated, the machine includes a frame it having mounted thereon any preferred type of internal combustion engine II. This engine is employed for driving the side endless crawler belts i2 and i3, and this drive mechanism and the controls therefor will be more fully set forth.

A rotatable stub shaft i 4 is disposed at one side of the engine crank-shaft l5 and is operatively connected thereto by means of a clutch l5. This clutch is adapted to be operated through the medium of a hand lever I! mounted upon the operating handle H3. The hand lever 11 has op- 1 eratively connected thereto an actuating link 19, which leads to and operates the movable section of the clutch.

Keyed or otherwise secured to the stub shaft I4 is a pair of spaced sprocket wheels 2| and 22. The sprocket wheel 2! is utilized for driving the jack shaft 23, and the jack shaft can have mounted thereon a relatively large sprocket wheel 24. A drive sprocket chain is trained over the sprocket wheels 2| and 24. The jack shaft is -utilized for operating the crawler tracks or belts, and the opposite ends of the jack shaft are operatively connected through the mediumof clutches 25 and 26 with stub shafts 21 and 28. These stub shafts 21 and 28 are operatively' connected to the drive axles 29 of the crawler trac or belts. 1

As illustrated, the stub shafts 21 and 28 have keyed or otherwise secured thereto sprocket wheels 30, and these sprocket wheels receive drive sprocket chains which are trained about sprocket wheels 3| secured to the axles 29 of 45 said crawler belts. The controls for the clutches 25 and 26 arealso mounted upon the handle l8, whereby these clutches can also be conveniently manipulated by the operator. As shown, the handle 18 carries rotatable hand grips 32.

Each of these hand grips has formed thereon or secured thereto a crank lever 33 for manipulating links 34. These links 34 lead to their respectiveclutches 25 and 26, and by turning the hand grips the movable clutch sections of the 55 or one or the other can-be thrown out so that the tractor can be guided and turned around.

Rigidly mounted upon the frame III of the tractor is a pair of forwardly extending brackets 34 to which is rigidly secured a substantially U- shaped supporting frame 35. Mounted upon the arms of the frame is a substantially cylindrical casing 36, and the front lower end of the casing-is left open to form an entrance mouth for the snow. The upper forward end of the casing can be provided with a hinged cover 31. A scraper blade 38 is carried by the lower edge of the casing for engaging and scraping the snow from the ground, and, if desired, this blade can be resiliently mounted.

Arranged within the casing 31 is a rotary snow blower or elevator 39. This blower 39 preferably includes end hubs 40 rigidly mounted upon an axle shaft Al. The ends of the axle shaft are mounted in suitable bearings carried by the casing and the arms of the U-shaped bracket 35. The hubs 40 are connected by spiral blower blades 42, which serve to break up and cut through the snow scraped up by the scraper blade 38, and for carrying and blowing the snow to one side of the machine and the sidewalk.

The upper end of the casing 36 terminates in a dome 43, which may be provided with snow guiding vanes, and the upper end of the dome has rotatably mounted thereon a blower pipe 44. This blower pipe can be swung in any direction desired so that the snow can be blown to either side of the machine as may be desired.

From the foregoing description it can be seen that I have provided an exceptionally simple and compact form of snow removing device, which can be effectively used on sidewalks for permitting the quick removal of snow therefrom.

The sprocket wheel 22 on the stub shaft II has trained about the same a sprocket chain 45, which leads about a sprocket wheel 46 carried or otherwise secured to the axle shaft 4| of the blower. Hence, it can be seen that the blower is operated from the engine I I of the tractor.

When the clutch I6 is thrown out by the operator, the blower as well as the machine can be instantly brought to a halt, and by leaving the clutch l6 thrown in and by throwing out the clutches 25 and 26 the blower can be actuated, and the tractor can be brought to a standstill. This is advantageous in the initial starting of the machine and in handling relatively large snowdrifts. I

While in Figures 1 to 3 inclusive I have shown the principles of my snow removing device applied to a relatively small walking tractor, whereby the machine can be used on sidewalks, it is to be understood that the snow removing device can be effectively used on large tractors for roadwork.

In Figures 4 and 5 I have illustrated my snow The letter T generally indicates the As illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the tractor '1' includes a frame having a rear axle II and a front axle II. A suitable engine 52 is mounted on the frame, and" the crankshaft N'extends slightly in advance of the axle 5|. The snow removing de- 5 vice D includes a pair of longitudinally extending supporting side beams 54, and the forward ends of the beams have rigidly secured thereto a U-shaped supporting member in which is secured the transversely extending substantially 10 cylindrical casing 58.

The front end of the casing is left open and the rear end of the casing carries the scraper blade 51. The upper end of the casing terminates in a dome 58 on which is rotatably mount- 15 ed a blower pipe 58. The blower pipe 53 can be provided with an annular worm gear ll with which meshes a worm 3|. This worm is rigidly secured on an operating shaft 62 rotatably mounted in suitable bearings. The shaft extends 20 rearwardly of the tractor toward the operator's seat.

The supporting beams 54 adjacent to their rear ends are rockably mounted on the rear axle 50, and the beams can be provided with U-shaped 5 bolts 63 for engaging about the axle. If desired, depending U-shaped guides 64 can be connected to the front axle 5| for guiding the swinging movement of the supporting beams. By raising and lowering the supporting beams, the position 30 of the scraping blade 51 relative to the ground can be adjusted.

Any preferred means can be provided for raising and lowering the beams, and, as shown, I

provide a cross-shaft G5 rotatably mounted on 35 the tractor, the terminals of which carry beveled gears 66 for meshing engagement with beveled gears 61 keyed or otherwise secured to screws 68. These screws 68 have traveling nuts 63 mounted thereon, and the nuts are connected by 40 means of pins 10 to the beams 54. The crossshaft 65 can be turned in any desired manner to bring about the raising and lowering of the beams. As shown, a worm wheel II is keyed to the cross-shaft, and the worm wheel has mesh- 45 shaft is operatively connected to the blower in any desired manner, such as through the medium of meshing beveled gears. The shaft 15' is operatively connected to the engine crankshaft through the medium of a clutch l6 and universal joint 11. Means is also provided for permitting the operation of the clutch by the driver of the vehicle, whereby the rotation of the blower 6 H can be controlled.

While in both forms of my invention I have shown the rotary blower mounted in a horizontal plane, it is to be understood that I do not wish to restrict myself to the exact position of this blower, as obviously the same could be mounted at an angle to thehorizontal. Likewise, the rotary blower can take other shapes and forms.

An operating drive 5 Other changes in details may be made with- 75 out departing from the spirit or the scope of my invention, but what I claimas new, is:

In a machine for removing snow from sidewalks, a rigid frame, an engine mounted directly on said frame, ground-engaging means carried by the opposite sides of the frame driven from said engine, a rearwardly extending manipulating handle on the frame, brackets on the front end of the frame projecting forwardly in spaced parallel relation, a forwardly and downwardlyextending U-shaped support secured to the brackets and arranged transversely of the frame andin front of the ground-engaging means, a cylindrical casing secured to the U-shaped support having an entrance moutlua scraper blade on the casing, a blower pipe communicating with the casing, a rotary blower mounted within the casing above the scraper including a. transversely extending shaft rotatably mounted in the casing and in the forward ends of the U-shaped support, and means for rotating the shaft from the engine.

JOHN GEHL.

Images