US2178400A - Snow removal machine - Google Patents

Description

Get. 31, 1939.. J. J. MARINO I SNOW REMOVAL MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 15, 1938 WITNESSES 7% ATTORNE Oct. 31, 1939. J. J. MARINO SNOW REMOVAL MACHINE 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct 15 I r n INVENTOR 7777 J: mar nno WITNESSES Wu M9 ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 31, 1939 4 UNITED smres PATENT caries 6 Claims.

This invention relates to street cleaning apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus designed to remove and dispose of snow.

An object of the invention is to provide a device which will be capable of removing snow from the surface of the street, transferring it into liquid, and disposing of the liquid.

A further object is to provide a device of the character described which may be converted into a loader, if so desired, or into a combined snow melting machine and sprayer.

At the present time it is customary to use a snow loader which will .load snow into trucks to be carted away. These devices are quite suc- 35 cessful but require the use of a number of trucks and a great deal of man power in order to be effectively used.

My invention will remove the snow from the street much in the manner of the snow remover,

so and while it can be used as a snow loader, its main purpose is to dispose of the snow by melting it.

In the accompanying drawings- Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of my machine;

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the machine.

I provide a chassis l6 mounted on the ordinary truck wheels I I and having a motor l2. The motor I2 is preferably situated between the wheels, as is the radiator l3 and the fan M.

The driver's seat I5 is preferably situated on top of the machine with the customary steering wheel I6 and the usual driving levers l1 and I8.

In the rear of my device I provide a large tank H! which has swinging doors 20 and 2| hinged at 22 and 23, respectively. M ounted on the frame 24 above the tank is a continuous belt 25 having a plurality of blades 26. The belt 25 is perforated with a number of lateral perforations 21. Im-

mediately below the belt 25 on its under side is situated a plate 28 having openings 29 therein and projections 30.

The belt 25 is mounted on sprockets 3|, the axle 32 of which supports the plate 28. Mounted at the top of the frame above the belt 25 are a plurality. of burners 33 which are supplied by a fuel tank 34. The burners- 33 are .pivotally mounted and their direction may be controlled by the lever 35 which operates the rod 36. The lever 35 is provided with a ratchet 31 and a pawl (not shown) so that the position of the burners may be fixed.

The burners 33 operate through a plate 38 which is provided with slots 39 to permit such operation. An additional plate 40 is provided which by means of the operation of the bell crank lever 4| may be moved over to close the slots 39. The

. controlled by the lever 62.

bell crank lever 4| is connected to a rod 42 which in turn is operated by a lever 53 similar to the lever 35.

The machine is provided with a covering or top plate 44 to protect the burners, and other plates 5 and windows 45 are provided in the plate 44 so that the action of the burners may be viewed from the operators chair 46. h

' Below the belt 25 an inclined plate 41 leads into the tank I9. A snow loading element 50 extends 10 from the front of the machine and may be lowered or raised by the cable 5| operated over the pulley 52 on the arm 53.

The snow loading element 50 contains abelt 54 provided with blades 55, and the belt 54 is 15 mounted on ratchets 56 and 51. The sprocket 51 is connected by a belt or chain 58 to the sprocket 59, operating the belt 25, which is in turn powered by a belt or chain 60 connected to a drive shaft 6| communicating with the motor 82 and 20 At the lower portion of the loading element 50 is a spiral knife 63 provided with teeth or spikes 63' adapted to cut into the snow and throw it rearwardly. Between that and the belt 54 is a spiral loading element 64. 25 Both the knife 63 and the loading element 64 are powered by a chain or belt 65 running from the ratchet 56.

A small wheel or caster 66 is mounted on the lower end of the loading element 50 to facilitate 30 its movement and to prevent scraping.

In operation the loading element 50 is lowered by the cable 5| and m'oved into the snow to be removed. The operator will then start the burners 33, the flame of which may be controlled by 35 the throttle 61, and move the belt into operation by the lever 62. The knife 63 will cut the snow and throw it into the spiral element 64 which in turn throws the snow upon the belt 54 where it will be carried by the blades 55 upwardly and 40 deposited on the belt 25. The belt 25 with the blades 21 thereon will carry the snow under the burners 33 where it will be melted. The snow will pass through the perforations 21 and any clumps of ice or lumps of snow will be broken up 45 by the obstructions 30. As the snow melts it may pass through the belt 25 on to the plate 41 where it will flow into the bin I!) as water 68. Any excess that is left on the belt upon reaching the sprocket 3| will be dumped into the bin 69 50 When it is desired to operate the machine as merely a loader, the operator turns the burners 33 upwardly through the openings 39 by operation of the handle 43 and moves the plate 38 over to cover the openings. The doors 20 and 2| are then moved to an open position and the snow will be carried by the belt 54 on to the belt 25 and out through the doors 20 and 2| into a truck or other suitable conveyance.

It will be appreciated that considerable heat will be generated by the burners 33 over the belt 25 and that this heat will have a direct effect upon the snow brought into that area even before the flame from the burners 33 directly contacts the snow. This heat will be suflicient to warm the water falling into the bin l9 so as to melt any particles of snow which may not be completely melted by the time they reach the end of the belt 25.

It will also be appreciated that while I have shown the specific arrangement of parts these may be changed with relation to one another without afiecting the conceptive idea behind my invention. The belts 25 and 54 might well be a continuous belt instead of two separate elements, and various other changes could be made without affecting the invention.

I claim:

1. A snow disposal machine comprising a body, a tank in said body, a loading element comprising a knife and an endless belt adjustably supported from said body and adapted to engage and pick up snow, 9. second endless belt operatively connecting with said first-mentioned belt, openings in said second-mentioned belt, a plate under the upper surface of said belt, openings in said plate and obstructions on said plate whereby snow passing through the openings in said belt Will be crushed against said obstructions and fall in a melted state through said plate.

2. In a device of the character described, a loading element operatively connected with an endless belt, a plate above said endless belt, openings in said plate, burners pivotally mounted above said openings and adapted to turn through said openings, means for controlling the direction of said burners, and a second plate adapted to cooperate with said first-mentioned plate when the burners are swung upwardly out of the openings in said first-mentioned plate to close said openings.

3. In a device of the character described, a loading element operatively connected with an endless belt, a plate above said endless belt, openings in said plate, burners pivotally mounted above said openings and adapted to turn through said openings, means for controlling the direction of said burners, a second plate adapted to cooperate with said first-mentioned plate when the burners are swung upwardly out of the openings in said first-mentioned plate to close said openings, and openings at the rear of said device coinciding with the end of said belt whereby snow may be carried by said belt and expelled through said openings.

4. In a snow disposal machine, an endless belt, perforations in said belt to allow water to pass thcrethrough, a plate below said belt, obstructions on said plate, said obstructions tending to break up pieces of snow or ice passing through said belt, and openings in said plate to allow melted snow to pass therethrough.

5. In a device of the character described, a loading element comprising a spiral knife and an endless belt, a second belt, burners pivotally mounted above said second-mentioned belt, a tank under said second-mentioned belt, and means adjacent the end of said belt providing for snow on said belt to be selectively dumped into said tank or out through the rear of said device.

6. A snow disposal machine, comprising a truck having amotor, a body mounted on said truck, said body including a tank, a loading element adjustably suspended from said body, an endless belt mounted in said body above said tank, a plate above said endless belt, apertures in said plate, burners pivotally mounted above said plate and communicating with said apertures, a second plate adapted to close said apertures, and doors above said tank at the rear of said body whereby the operation of said doors will determine whether the snow from said belt will be propelled outwardly through said doors or into said tank.

JOHN J. MARINO.

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