Patent Application
20080184506
The present invention relates to a method and system for removing foreign materials from the upper surfaces of vehicles. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and system for removing foreign materials such as ice and snow from the upper surfaces of trailers, cube vans and box trucks or the like.
Large motor vehicles, such as semi trailer transports and box trucks, are used to transport a significant proportion of materials and cargo in developed nations. Such motor vehicles typically include large upper surfaces which are horizontal, or substantially horizontal, upon which foreign materials such as snow and/or ice can accumulate when the vehicle is stopped, moving slowly or even, under some circumstances, when the vehicle is moving at its typical operating speed.
These foreign materials pose a risk to other vehicles driving in the vicinity of the large motor vehicles carrying such foreign materials in that the materials can be dislodged from the roofs, trailer roofs or other surfaces of the vehicles carrying them, under aerodynamic forces generated by movement of the vehicle and/or weather conditions and/or under mechanical forces, for example when the vehicle hits a pot hole, bridge grating or other road surface irregularity. When the foreign materials are dislodged, they can hit following vehicles, causing collision damage, and/or can obscure the vision of the drivers of following vehicles, leading to accidents.
Recently, proposals have been made to prohibit the operation of vehicles carrying snow and/or ice on their roofs or trailer roofs. While such proposals have obvious merit, compliance is problematic as the surfaces on which the snow and/or ice rest are typically at a significant height with respect to the ground on which the vehicle rests and there are obvious safety issues in climbing to reach the snow and/or ice-covered surface and removing the snow and/or ice, which can often be quite heavy.
Several prior attempts have been made to deal with this issue. U.S. Pat. No. 6,654,978 to Bouchard teaches a scraper blade which is mounted to a stand or bridge. A vehicle is driven under the stand and the scraper is brought into contact with the upper surface of the vehicle which is then driven along under the blade, displacing snow and/or ice from the upper surface of the vehicle. Similar gantry mounted devices are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,356 to Candeletti and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,654 to Yeaglin.
While such gantry-mounted devices can effectively clear snow and/or ice from the top of vehicles, they suffer from disadvantages in that they require the vehicle to be brought to the gantry. While this may not be an undue limitation in a freight forwarding or truck dispatch yard which offers such a device, it does not offer any solution for a vehicle which is not at such a facility or is at a facility which does not offer such a device.
For example, a long distance truck which has been parked at a rest stop or other location for several hours during a snow storm, while its driver gets necessary sleep, can accumulate a great deal of snow and/or ice on its upper surfaces. In such a case, even in a best case scenario wherein the driver knows of a nearby location of such a gantry type removal system, he must still move his truck to that location and he will endanger the public by moving his snow covered truck to that location.
Also, many vehicles now include at least portions of their roofs or trailer roofs which are fabricated from plastic materials to reduce weight (and hence increase fuel efficiency) and admit daylight into portions of the interior of the vehicle or trailer. These prior art gantry mounted devices can damage such plastic portions of the roofs or trailer roofs.
A prior art on-trailer or on-vehicle system for removing snow and/or ice which apparently avoids the problems associated with gantry type systems are shown in German patent application DE2004100058651 to Lechner. Lechner teaches a system wherein the top of the trailer or truck is loosely covered with a layer of fabric with an air bag system being located between the surface of the truck or trailer and the fabric cover. To remove snow and/or ice which has accumulated on top of the vehicle on the fabric cover, the air bag is inflated which lifts the cover to essentially form a peaked roof on the top of the vehicle. Provided that the fabric has a sufficiently low friction surface, snow and/or ice will slide off the inclined sides of the peaked roof. Once the vehicle top has been cleared, the air bag is deflated and the peaked roof collapses.
While the Lechner system offers advantages over the prior art gantry mounted systems, it too suffers from disadvantages. In particular, the fabric cover must be larger than the area it is installed on to permit it to be lifted by the air bag to its peaked roof geometry. However, by oversizing the fabric to permit its expansion to form the peaked roof, the fabric sits loosely atop the vehicle when the air bag is not inflated and thus the airflow over the top of the vehicle when the vehicle is moving is disrupted by the loose fabric. This disruption increases the aerodynamic coefficient of drag of the vehicle, thus reducing its fuel efficiency. Further, this disruption causes the fabric to flap which leads to premature failure of the fabric and to undesired noise.
It is desired to have an on-vehicle method and system for removing foreign materials from the upper surfaces of vehicles.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel system and method for removing foreign materials from upper surfaces of vehicles which obviates or mitigates at least one disadvantage of the prior art.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for removing foreign materials from the upper surface of a vehicle, comprising: a first roller mounted adjacent a first side of the upper surface of the vehicle; a second roller mounted adjacent the side of the upper surface of the vehicle opposite the first side; an endless belt encircling the first and second roller and substantially covering the upper surface of the vehicle; and a drive means to move the belt on the first and second roller to convey foreign materials accumulated on the belt over the side of the vehicle.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for removing foreign materials from the upper surface of a vehicle, comprising: a rigid cover pivotally attached to the vehicle; an opening means operable to pivot the cover between a first position wherein the cover overlies the upper surface of the vehicle to a second position wherein the surface of the cover is inclined with respect to the surface of the vehicle, wherein foreign materials which have accumulated on the cover will fall to the ground beside the vehicle.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for removing foreign materials from the upper surface of a vehicle, comprising: a scraper moveable along the upper surface of the vehicle between a first side of the upper surface of the vehicle and a second side, opposite the first side, of the upper surface of the vehicle and wherein the scraper pushes foreign material which has accumulated on the upper surface of the vehicle over the second side of the vehicle.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for removing foreign materials from the upper surface of a vehicle, comprising: a fabric cover overlying the upper surface of the vehicle; and a lift mechanism operable to form the fabric cover into a peaked structure over the upper surface of the vehicle to cause foreign materials which have accumulated on the cover to fall to the ground beside the vehicle
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for removing foreign materials from the upper surface of a vehicle, comprising: a pair of tracks, each track mounted to an opposite side of the upper surface of the vehicle; and a rigid cover having a first pair of roller engaging respective ones of the tracks and a second pair of rollers engaging respective ones of the tracks such that the cover can be moved between a first position wherein it overlies the upper surface of the vehicle and a second position wherein at least one half of the cover extends beyond the upper surface of the vehicle and wherein the tracks include an opening allowing the second pair of rollers to exit the track and allowing the cover to pivot about the first pair of rollers such that foreign materials atop the cover can slide to the ground beside the vehicle.
The present invention provides a system for removing foreign materials, such as snow and/or ice, from the upper surface of a vehicle can include rigid or fabric covers which are moved to dislodge the foreign materials before the vehicle is driven on a road.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:
A trailer for a transport truck is indicated generally at 20 in
While in the illustrated embodiment rollers 32 and 36 are shown being mounted above the roof of trailer 20, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that, if it is desired to reduce the over all height of trailer 20, roller 32 can be mounted in front of trailer 20, such that its upper surface is substantially the same height as the roof of trailer 20, and roller 36 can be mounted behind trailer 20, also with its upper surface is substantially the same height as the roof of trailer 20.
As this would otherwise result in the lower surface of belt 28 rubbing the leading and trailing edges of the roof of trailer 20, it is contemplated that a rub rail manufactured of a low friction material, such as PTFE, can be mounted to the leading and trailing corner edges of trailer 20 to prevent undue wear of belt 28.
Belt 28 can be fabricated from any suitable material as will occur to those of skill in the art. Preferably7 the material of belt 28 is selected to be at least reasonably durable when exposed to an outdoor environment for extended periods of time and also preferably belt 28 includes an outer surface which is relatively smooth and which has a low coefficient of friction such that foreign materials such as snow or ice can be easily separated from belt 28.
In the illustrated embodiment of
If trailer 20 has accumulated foreign material, such as snow, ice, leaves or other materials on the upper surface of belt 28, drive mechanism 40 is operated to drive first roller 32 which, in turn, moves belt 28 and second roller 36 such that the upper surface of belt 28 is moved toward the rear of trailer 20 (as indicated by arrows 48). In this manner, foreign material on top of belt 28 will be conveyed to the back of trailer 20 where it will separate from belt 28 as belt 28 turns about second roller 36 and the foreign material will fall to the ground behind trailer 20.
As should be apparent to those of skill in the art, system 24 is not limited to drive mechanism 40 being connected to first roller 32 and drive mechanism 40 can instead be connected to second roller 36. In such a case, second roller 36 will be the driven roller providing the force to move belt 28 and first roller 32.
It is also contemplated that drive mechanism 40 need not be limited to a hand crank and any suitable mechanism for driving at least one of first roller 32 and/or second roller 36 can be employed, as will occur to those of skill in the art. For example, drive mechanism 40 can be an electric motor supplied with power from the electrical system of the tractor to which trailer 20 is attached or, similarly, drive mechanism 40 can be a pneumatic or hydraulic motor supplied with pressurized air or hydraulic fluid from the corresponding appropriate systems of the tractor. However, as will be apparent to those of skill in the art, one advantage of drive mechanism 40 being an input crank is that system 24 can be operated with trailer 20 parked, disconnected from a tractor.
It is also contemplated that belt 28 need not be an endless belt. In such a case one end of belt 28 will be attached to roller 32 and the opposite end of belt 28 will be attached to roller 36. In this embodiment, the length of belt 28 will be approximately twice the length of the upper surface of trailer 20 and the length of belt 28 will extend from roller 36 to roller 32, which will have the excess length of belt 28 wrapped on it. To remove undesired foreign materials from the upper surface of trailer 24, roller 36 is rotated by a drive mechanism to draw the excess length of belt 28 from roller 32 and onto roller 36, thus causing any foreign materials atop belt 28 to fall onto the ground behind trailer 20. Once belt 28, and thus the upper surface of trailer 20, is cleared of foreign materials, roller 32 is driven to reclaim the excess length of belt 28 from roller 36 to reset system 24 for its next use.
As with system 24, system 100 can include an identifier (not shown) and drive mechanism 40 can be any suitable drive mechanism including a hand crank, an electric motor or a pneumatic motor.
Further, as with system 24, if it is desired to reduce the over all height of trailer 20, roller 32 can be mounted along the side of trailer 20, such that its upper surface is substantially the same height as the roof of trailer 20, and roller 36 can be mounted along the opposite side of trailer 20, also with its upper surface is substantially the same height as the roof of trailer 20 and suitable rub rails can be provided along the side edges of the roof of trailer 20.
It is contemplated that systems 24 or 100 can be provided on new trailers 20 and/or can easily be retrofitted to existing trailers 20. It is further contemplated that system 24 or 100 can be mounted on trailer 20 on a seasonal basis, be installed during winter months and being removed in summer months.
An opening mechanism 170 is mounted longitudinally to the midpoint of upper surface 156 between upper surface 156 and cover 154 and 162. In the illustrated embodiment, opening mechanism 170 is an airbag which can be inflated to move covers 154 and 162 from the closed position, wherein the covers are substantially flat on upper surface 156, to the opened position shown in the Figure wherein covers 154 and 162 are inclined with respect to upper surface 156.
Each of first cover 154 and second cover 162 extend over approximately one half of upper surface 156 such that, when covers 154 and 162 are in their closed position upper surface 156 is completely covered. Thus, any foreign material which would otherwise collect on upper surface 156 will instead collect on covers 154 and 162.
System 150 preferably also includes a set of latches 174 on first cover 154 and second cover 162 which can be operated to lock together to prevent unintentional opening of covers 154 and 162, such as by aerodynamic forces, when trailer 20 is being moved at speed. Latches 174 can be operated in any suitable manner, such as mechanically, electrically, pneumatically, etc.
When it is desired to remove foreign materials, such as snow and/or ice, from the top of trailer 20, opening mechanism 170 is operated to move covers 154 and 162 to their respective open positions and the inclination of covers 154 and 162 will cause the foreign materials to slide off covers 154 and 162 and off the sides of trailer 20. Opening mechanism 170 is then operated to place covers 154 and 162 into their respective closed positions and trailer 20 can then be moved as desired.
Covers 154 and 162 can be fabricated from any suitable material, such as fiberglass, PVC, etc. which is relatively inexpensive and sufficiently rigid to allow covers 154 and 162 to be moved between open and closed positions without undue deformation, even when a significant load of foreign materials, such as snow and ice, may be resting on covers 154 and 162. It is desired that, whatever covers 154 and 162 be fabricated from, the upper surface of covers 154 and 162 be smooth and have a relatively low coefficient of friction so that foreign materials will more easily slide off of covers 154 and 162 when they are moved to the open position. Also, as with system 24, system 150 can include an identifier (not shown) on either or both of covers 154 and 162.
It is contemplated that when covers 154 and 162 are fabricated from materials which are heavy enough to prevent unintended opening, then latches 174, or equivalent, can be omitted.
It is also contemplated that, to reduce the needed capacity of opening mechanism 170, it may be desired to fabricate cover 154 as two covers and to fabricate cover 162 as a corresponding pair of two covers. Opening mechanism 170 can then be operated to open one cover at a time, or one pair of covers at a time, to reduce the load on opening mechanism 170 when a significant amount of foreign material has collected atop the covers.
An opening mechanism 212 extends between trailer 20 and cover 204 to move cover 204 between the open position (illustrated in the Figure) and a closed position wherein cover 204 is flat upon upper surface 208. In the illustrated embodiment, opening mechanism 212 comprises a set of air bags which can be selectively pressurized, to move cover 204 to the open position, or depressurized to return cover 204 to the closed position.
As with covers 154 and 162, cover 204 can be can be fabricated from any suitable material, such as fiberglass, ABS, PVC, etc. which is relatively inexpensive and sufficiently rigid to allow covers 204 to be moved between open and closed positions without undue deformation, even when a significant load of foreign materials, such as snow and ice, may be resting on cover 204. Also, as before, if covers 154 and 162 may be subject to unintentional opening, a set of latches (not shown) can be provided between trailer 20 and cover 204.
It is desired that, whatever cover 204 is fabricated from, the upper surface of cover 204 is smooth and has a relatively low coefficient of friction so that foreign materials will more easily slide off of cover 204 when it is moved to the open position. Also, as with system 24, system 200 can include an identifier (not shown) on cover 200. Again, as with covers 154 and 162, if desired cover 204 can be fabricated as two or more smaller covers which can be individually opening and closed.
Unlike system 200, other than the edge of cover 254 where hinges 258 are located, the edges of cover 254 are connected to an expandable shroud 266 which encloses the space between cover 254 and the upper surface of trailer 20 to prevent the ingress of foreign material into this space when cover 254 is not in the closed position.
As is also illustrated in
It is contemplated that, in some circumstances, the application of heat to the covers (such as cover 254, covers 154 and 162, etc.) or to belts 28, etc. of the present invention may facilitate the separation of ice and snow from the respective cover or belt. Accordingly, it is contemplated that the exhaust gases from the engine of the truck or tractor moving trailer 20 can be routed such that heat is transferred from the exhaust gases to the respective cover or belt.
In the case where a foreign material removal system in accordance with the present invention is mounted on a removable trailer, such as trailer 20, then a hose or other appropriate connection can be provided to route exhaust gases from the exhaust stack of the tractor to the underside of the cover, or inside the loop of the belt. When a foreign material removal system in accordance with the present invention is mounted on a truck body or cube van, then a permanent connection can be made to the exhaust system of the truck or van. In either case, the exhaust gas is routed to warm the cover or belt surface on which the snow or ice rests to loosen the snow and/or ice from the surface. Thus, when the belt is moved or the cover is inclined, the snow and/or ice will more easily separate from the cover or belt.
Scraper 304 is connected to a drive means 312 which is operable to propel scraper 304 along the top of trailer 304 to dislodge and move foreign materials to the rear of trailer 20 where they are pushed off of trailer 20 by scraper 304. In the illustrated embodiment, drive means 312 is a cable drive which is operated by a hand crank mechanism 316 but it is contemplated that drive means 312 can be any suitable drive means as will occur to those of skill in the art. For example, drive means 312 can comprise a cable drive operated by an electric motor attached to trailer 20 or drive means 312 can comprise a gear, driven by an electric motor mounted to blade 304, wherein the gear engages a set of teeth along tracks 308 to move blade 304.
While system 300 can successfully remove foreign materials from the top of trailer 20, it is contemplated that it may still be difficult in some circumstances to remove snow and/or ice which has accumulated on trailer 20 and which may have frozen to the upper surface of trailer 20. Accordingly, in a preferred aspect of the present invention the upper surface of trailer 20 can be covered with a low friction surface 320, such as a layer of PTFE or polyethylene.
If desired, surface 320 can be a dark color to better absorb sunlight and warm itself to melt snow and/or ice on surface 320. As will be apparent to those of skill in the art, it is not necessary to melt the bulk of the snow and/or ice it is merely desired to form a layer water between surface 320 and the snow or ice atop it to facilitate the ability of scraper 304 to dislodge and remove the snow and/or ice from surface 320.
Surface 320 can also be formed of a sandwich of materials providing a plenum under the uppermost surface, on which the snow and ice would rest, and hot exhaust gases from the vehicle engine can be directed through this plenum. It is also contemplated that surface 320 can include active heating sources, such as electrical heating elements 324, to assist in forming the layer of water between surface 320 and any ice or snow atop it. In such a case, system 300 can further include a set of solar (photovoltaic) cells 328 to assist in powering heating elements 324. It is contemplated that, if trailer 20 is parked in a yard, solar cells 328 can power heating elements 324 to reduce or prevent a build up of foreign material, or trailer 20 can be connected to a suitable power source in the yard to power heating elements 320. When trailer 20 is connected to a transport tractor, heating elements 324 can be powered by the electrical system of the tractor.
A lift mechanism 370 is located between the upper surface of trailer 20 and cover 354. In the illustrated embodiment, lift mechanism 370 is an airbag although any other suitable opening mechanism, as would occur to those of skill in the art, can be employed. When lift mechanism 370 is an airbag, the airbag can be supplied with pressurized gas from any suitable source, including the air supply from the tractor to which trailer 20 is connected, an air compressor onboard trailer 20 or the exhaust system of the tractor to which trailer 20 is connected.
In
As shown in
The biasing springs of rollers 358 and 362 are selected to be of sufficient force such that cover 354 will be maintain taunt across the top of trailer 20 when lift mechanism 370 is deactivated, to prevent cover 354 from moving significantly under aerodynamic forces as trailer 20 is moved at speed on highways and roadways.
While in the presently preferred configuration system 350 includes two rollers 358 and 362, it is contemplated that in other configurations cover 354 can be fixed to one side of trailer 20 and a single roller (either 358 or 362) can be employed on the opposite side to store and tension the extra fabric of cover 354 needed to form the peaked structure when lift mechanism 370 is operated. As will also be apparent to those of skill in the art, in the case where a single roller (358 or 362) is employed, the force of the spring biasing the roller to tension the fabric of cover 354 will be selected to ensure adequate tensioning of cover 354.
To inhibit airflow from getting under cover 354 and/or to mitigate any adverse aerodynamic effects system 350 may impart to trailer 20, it is preferred that system 350 include at least a leading air deflector 374 which is located adjacent the front of trailer 20 and which redirects airflow past trailer 20, particularly when trailer 20 is being towed at speed, up and over system 350. Leading air deflector can be fabricated in any suitable manner and the use of such air deflectors is well known. In some circumstances, it may also be desired to include a trailing air deflector 378 to further enhance the aerodynamics of trailer 20 when cover 354 is in the flattened configuration shown in
When it is desired to collapse the peaked structure of system 400, airbag 408 is subjected to a vacuum source which collapsed airbag 408. Cover 404 is attached to airbag 408, which is in turn attached to the upper surface of trailer 20, and when airbag 408 is collapsed by the vacuum, cover 404 is pulled down and retained is a substantially flat manner, atop trailer 20.
When trailer 20 is being operated or is parked, cover 512 overlies the upper surface of trailer 20 such that any foreign materials which may fall on trailer 20 will accumulate on cover 512.
When it is desired to removed accumulated foreign materials from atop trailer 20, an operator or other individual will slide cover 512, on rollers 516 and 520 in tracks 504 and 508) transversely across the upper surface of trailer 20, as indicated by arrow 524 in
Cover 512 is moved transversely until the rollers 516 abut limit stops at the ends of tracks 504 and 508. The pair of rollers 516 are attached to cover 512 before the center point of cover 512, such that more than one half of cover 512 will be extended beyond the upper surface of trailer 20 when the pair of rollers 516 about the limit stops.
Tracks 504 and 508 are fabricated with openings positioned such that, when the pair of rollers 516 abut the limit stops of tracks 504 and 508, the pair of rollers 520 can lift up through the openings and out of tracks 504 and 508 to allow cover 512 to pivot about rollers 516 and the side of trailer 20 as shown in
When cover 512 is in the pivoted position, any foreign materials which have accumulated on cover 512 can fall to the ground under the impetus of gravity. Once cover 512 has been substantially cleared of foreign materials, cover 512 can be pivoted back to a horizontal position and slid, in tracks 504 and 508, back to the starting position where in cover 512 overlaid the upper surface of trailer 20.
It is believed that cover 512 can easily be manually deployed by an operator or yard worker via a removable pole, attached to the edge of cover 512, or via any other suitable means for moving cover 512 along tracks 504 and 508. By positioning pair of rollers 516 such that cover 512 extends over center over the side of trailer 20 before pivoting, the titling of cover 512 about the side of trailer 20 can be achieved manually even if there is a significant weight of foreign material accumulated on cover 512 as this weight will in most circumstances assist in tilting cover 512 to allow the material to fall from cover 512.
If desired, cover 512 can be fabricated as two or more smaller covers, each of which is moveable on a corresponding set of tracks. In this manner the weight of foreign material which must be moved with one of these smaller covers of cover 512 is reduced, thus providing for easier movement and operation of system 500.
As will be apparent to those of skill in the art, any suitable latch or other mechanism can be employed to prevent unintended movement of cover 512 when trailer 20 is moving, etc.
In operation, heat from the exhaust gases passing through plenum 554 warm the upper surface of plenum 554, melting snow and/or ice on the upper surface. Preferably, the upper surface of plenum 554 is peaked or otherwise inclined such that snow and or ice which is loosened from the upper surface by the melting will slide off either side of the upper surface, clearing the top of trailer 20.
It is contemplated that system 550 can be removably installed on trailer 20 such that system 550 can be installed in the fall, before winter conditions occur, and removed in the spring.
In the illustrated embodiment, a plenum 608 is provided along each longitudinal side of trailer 20, with apertures 616 facing inward onto the upper surface of trailer 20. However, it is also contemplated that one or two plenums can be provided along the longitudinal centerline of trailer 20 with apertures 616 facing outward to the edges of trailer 20.
The heated working fluid, which can be any suitable antifreeze compound can be circulated through circulation system 654 by thermosyphoning or by a circulating pump in thermal generating system 654.
While each of the embodiments of the present invention described above are shown as being installed on a trailer 20, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that the present invention can also be installed on box trucks, cube vans or any other vehicle for which it is desired to have a system and method for removing foreign materials from the upper surface of the vehicle.
The above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be examples of the present invention and alterations and modifications may be effected thereto, by those of skill in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto.
This application claims the benefits of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/888,617, filed Feb. 7, 2007.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60888617 | Feb 2007 | US |
