Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6553693
-
Patent Number
6,553,693
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Date Filed
Friday, May 26, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, April 29, 200322 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
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US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 037 227
- 037 228
- 104 279
- 105 722
- 105 2152
- 105 2381
- 105 355
- 280 160
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International Classifications
-
Abstract
A snowblower apparatus and a method of using the snowblower. The snowblower apparatus is self contained and portable and may be mounted on a prime mover. A turbine engine is located within a housing and discharges its exhaust to the desired area of snow or ice removal. The housing is rotatable and tiltable about orthogonal axes so as to allow the operator to direct the discharge nozzle to a desired location. A fuel tank may be mounted separately from the housing and turbine engine. An afterburner may be used to increase the exhaust temperature thereby to remove ice and otherwise dry the desired location.
Description
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for removing snow and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for removing snow using a self-contained turbine engine with flexible operating characteristics which has particular application in association with railways.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Snow removal equipment for roads and railway tracks is, of course, well known. In relation to railway tracks, the type of snow removal has generally been a plow and/or blower mounted on the forward end of an engine or an independently powered snowplow and/or blower. Turbine engines for powering snow removal equipment and using the exhaust from such engines are also known. Typically, the snow removal equipment used for clearing railway track cuts a passage of standard train width to allow subsequent passage of the train. The snow is suctioned into a large fan rotating at high speed and is then blown by the fan some distance from the track. The fan is powered by high horsepower engines. Where the exhaust of a turbine engine is used, the turbine engine generally is very large and has a dedicated prime mover to provide operating controls and equipment support.
Although the apparatuses presently used for clearing railway track work relatively well for the applications in which they are used, there are disadvantages inherent in the apparatuses if intended to be used for other applications. First, the forces created to suction in the snow and blow it a distance from the track are large. Ballast under the track is ingested as well as the snow with the result that the ballast bed beneath the track may be damaged. If there is considerable snow present over the winter, the ballast may have to be replaced which is time consuming and expensive. Second, there is little flexibility in the use of the present apparatuses. The cleared pass is of a certain width, primarily the width required for a passing train and this width is not adjustable. If it desired to clear adjacent track switches and the track extending from the switches, a further pass along the switch and track must be made. Third, if a relatively small area located away from the track is desired to be cleared of snow such as at a distance marker or other instructional sign, it must be cleared manually since the snowplow and/or blower is not adapted for such snow clearing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided apparatus for removing snow comprising a turbine engine having intake and exhaust sections and being operably connected to a base, a discharge nozzle operably connected to said exhaust section and adapted to discharge said exhaust to an area of interest and controls to initiate operation of said turbine engine and to increase and decrease the power of said exhaust discharging from said discharge nozzle, said turbine engine being rotatable and tiltable relative to said base and said turbine engine having an afterburner to increase the temperature of said exhaust discharging from said discharge nozzle.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for removing snow from a desired location comprising initiating operation of a turbine engine mounted on a base, ingesting air from ambient surroundings into said turbine engine, discharging said exhaust from said turbine engine into a discharge nozzle, rotating and/or tilting said turbine engine and discharge nozzle relative to said base and raising the temperature of said exhaust prior to discharge of said exhaust from said discharge nozzle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with the use of drawings in which:
FIG. 1
is a diagrammatic side view of the snow removal apparatus according to one aspect of the invention, the apparatus being mounted on a prime mover;
FIG. 2
is a diagrammatic side view of the snow blower of FIG.
1
and illustrating the snow blower in its tilted position;
FIG. 3A
is a diagrammatic side view of the tilt and turn table used with the snow blower according to the invention;
FIG. 3B
is a diagrammatic plan view of the tilt and turn table of
FIG. 3A
;
FIG. 4A
is a front axial view of the nozzle used in the turbine engine of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 4B
is an isometric view of the nozzle of
FIG. 4A
;
FIGS. 5A and 5B
are side and axial views, respectively, of a stator plate used with the turbine engine is of
FIG. 1
;
FIGS. 6A and 6B
are side and axial views of the afterburner flame holder used with the turbine engine of
FIG. 1
; and
FIGS. 7A and 7B
illustrate the typical operating controls of the turbine engine and afterburner according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, a snow removal apparatus according to the invention is illustrated generally at
100
in FIG.
1
. The snow removal apparatus
100
includes a snow blower generally illustrated at
101
. Snow blower
101
includes a housing
103
within which a turbine engine
102
, conveniently a modified General Electric T58 turbine engine, is located. The T58 engine produces approximately 1400 HP and has approximately an 11000 CFM rating. A discharge nozzle
104
extends from the forward end of the housing
103
and a nozzle temperature sensor
105
extends from the discharge nozzle
104
to provide temperature information within the discharge nozzle
104
.
A steel guard
106
is connected to the housing
103
and provides protection to the discharge nozzle
104
from inadvertent contact with objects and the like during operation.
An air inlet
110
on top of the housing
103
allows air to enter the housing
103
and, therefore, the air intake end
111
of the turbine engine
102
as will be described.
The housing
103
is mounted on the forward end of a prime mover
112
, conveniently a tractor of the non-articulated variety but having “crab” steering, namely steerable forward and rearward pneumatic tires
113
,
114
, respectively, which allow the prime mover
112
to be quickly removed from the railway tracks
120
on which it is operating. This is convenient if a train is expected.
A fuel tank
121
is mounted on the rearward end of the prime mover
112
. The fuel from the fuel tank
121
is used for the turbine engine
102
of the snow removal apparatus
100
. A fuel line runs between the turbine engine
102
and the fuel tank
121
.
Rail wheels
122
,
123
are mounted on the forward and rearward ends of the prime mover
112
, respectively. The rail wheels
122
,
123
are hydraulically raised and lowered with hydraulic cylinders
124
,
130
, respectively. In the event the snow removal apparatus
100
is intended to be driven off the track
120
, the hydraulic cylinders
124
,
130
are activated to raise the railwheels
122
,
123
off the track whereupon all the weight of the prime mover
112
and the snow removal apparatus
100
will rest on the pneumatic tires
113
,
114
and the prime mover
112
can be independently and easily driven off the rails
120
.
The housing
103
is mounted on a table
132
which Is, in turn, mounted on a turntable
131
best seen in FIG.
3
A. The turntable
131
is mounted on a base
115
. A hydraulic motor
133
runs a gear
134
which meshes with a complementary matching circumferential gear
140
connected to the turntable
131
and thereby rotates the table
132
. A tilt mechanism includes a hydraulic cylinder
141
which extends between the table
132
and the turntable
131
. As the hydraulic cylinder
141
is extended and retracted, the table
132
rotates upwardly and downwardly about axis
142
thereby tilting the housing
103
and the attached discharge nozzle
104
.
The turbine engine
102
used for the snowblower
100
was originally used for helicopter purposes and had a third nozzle stage that gave a substantial tangential component to the combustion gases downstream from the combustion chamber. To alter the flow of gases and reduce the sidewise velocity components, a stator plate generally illustrated at
143
(
FIGS. 5A and 5B
) is added downstream of the third stage nozzle of the turbine engine
102
. The blades or vanes
144
have a more open configuration and allow the gases to more readily pass from the third stage nozzle to the discharge nozzle
104
since the flow passage is less constricted by the blades
144
. In addition to the configuration of the blades
144
, a cone
150
is likewise added in an attempt to reduce backpressure and any turbulence within the discharge nozzle
132
caused by the abrupt ending of the third stage nozzle when the turbine engine
102
was adapted for the snow blowing application.
Subsequently, a newly designed third stage nozzle member
155
was designed as seen in
FIGS. 4A and 4B
. This nozzle member
155
also included the cone member
150
of the insert of
FIGS. 5A and 5B
. The technique used was to simply remove many vanes or blade
156
from the original nozzle member
155
and add the cone
150
by welding it to the nozzle member
155
. The advantage of this configuration is that no stator member is required.
The afterburner is generally illustrated at
151
(
FIGS. 6A and 6B
) and is used to increase the temperature of the air being discharged from the turbine engine
102
and the discharge nozzle
104
if required. This temperature increase can be important since, if ice is present, it may not be removed with the blown snow. By increasing the temperature of the discharged air, the ice can be melted and any specific areas desired may be dried to avoid the reformation of ice. This is useful for switches and the like which may not function if encased in ice following a storm or where melting and subsequent freezing conditions are encountered.
The afterburner
151
includes a plate
152
similar to the stator plate described in relation to
FIGS. 4A and 4B
. However, no blades are present and the plate
152
is mounted downstream of the third stage nozzle
155
. A series of atomising fuel injectors
153
are positioned about the circumference of the plate
152
. Fuel and air are supplied to the injectors
153
which atomise the fuel. A raw fuel injector
116
(
FIG. 1
) is mounted in the turbine engine
102
upstream of the injectors
153
. The raw fuel injector
116
injects raw fuel into the operating engine which then ignites in a “streak” of flame. The streak is displaced downstream where it comes into contact with the atomised fuel ejected from injectors
153
. The atomised fuel from injectors
115
ignites thereby increasing the temperature of the discharged gases from the turbine engine
102
and the discharge nozzle
104
.
Control panels
154
,
156
(
FIGS. 7A and 7B
) are provided for the operator. The control panel
154
includes a series of switches and gages which allow the operator to initiate ignition of the turbine engine
102
and to monitor its operation. A master switch
160
allows electrical power to be applied to the turbine engine
102
. A throttle switch
161
allows the fuel in the turbine engine to be increased or decreased. An igniter switch
162
creates an initial spark to initiate combustion of the fuel. A spring loaded starter switch
163
will rotate the engine until a predetermined percentage of rpm, conveniently 19%, is reached, as shown on gage
164
. An exhaust temperature gage
171
allows the temperature of the exhaust discharging from the discharge nozzle
104
to be monitored and a switch may be provided for the addition of extra fuel.
Additional controls are provided for the afterburner
151
as viewed in
FIG. 7. A
fuel discharge switch
172
allows pulsed raw fuel to be released upstream of the injectors
153
. An injector switch
173
allows atomised fuel to flow from the injectors
153
to be ignited by the fuel released by operation of the fuel discharge switch
172
.
OPERATION
In operation, it will be appreciated that the snow blower
101
and fuel tank
121
are self contained units and that they may be mounted on any convenient prime mover including the rail mounted prime mover
112
of FIG.
1
. As seen in
FIG. 1
, the snowblower
101
has a blower attachment member
109
which is complementary to attachment member
108
on prime mover
11
so the snow blower
101
is conveniently connected and removed as desired.
The prime mover
112
will be transported or otherwise moved to the desired operating position which location, for example, may be adjacent a switch extending off a main track line that has been previously cleared by other means.
Operation of the turbine engine
102
will be initiated. Master switch
160
will be turned on to allow power to flow from a battery
165
(
FIG. 2
) within housing
103
. The throttle
161
will be set at its minimum position. The igniter switch
162
is activated to create a spark to initially ignite the fuel. The starter switch
163
rotates the engine until, conveniently with the GE T58 turbine
102
, the percentage rpm reaches approximately 19% as shown on gage
164
. The throttle
161
is then moved to its idle position somewhat above its minimum position. The start fuel switch
170
is turned on to allow fuel to flow until the rpm gage
164
reaches approximately 55-60%. The starter switch
163
, being a spring loaded toggle, is released and the turbine
102
is then under operation. It is important to view the gauges
164
,
171
during operation to ensure that the exhaust temperature as shown on gage
171
remains within a predetermined range and that the rpm of the turbine engine
102
is similarly within a desired operating range.
The housing
103
and, accordingly, the turbine engine
102
and discharge nozzle
104
may be tilted and/or rotated by the operator relative to the base
115
by operating hydraulic motor
133
which will rotate gear
134
and thereby rotate the turntable
131
on which the housing
103
is mounted. Likewise, hydraulic cylinder
141
may be extended or retracted to raise or lower one side of the table
132
which rotates about axis
142
when being raised or lowered. The operator may easily direct the exhaust discharging from the discharge nozzle
104
at any desired location without necessarily requiring any movement of the prime mover
112
during operation of the snow blower
102
.
In certain applications, particularly where ice may be present and/or it is desired to dry a track or other location, the afterburner
151
is useful to heat the temperature of the exhaust being discharged by the discharge nozzle
104
. To initiate operation of the afterburner
151
, the fuel discharge switch
172
(
FIG. 6B
) is initiated. This fuel discharge switch
172
allows a pulsed raw fuel discharge from fuel injector
116
(FIG.
1
). The pulsed raw fuel is ignited by the temperature of the exhaust upstream of the injectors
153
and creates a “streak” of flame directed rearwardly. The injector switch
173
is operated to allow atomised fuel to be released by the injector nozzles
153
and this fuel is ignited by the streak of raw fuel passing to the injectors
153
. Thus, a ring of combustion flame will be formed within the injectors and downstream therefrom which will heat the exhaust and provide increased heat to the area receiving the nozzle discharge.
Many modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates and the specific embodiments herein described should be taken as illustrative of the invention only and not as limiting the invention as defined in accordance with the accompanying claims.
Claims
- 1. Apparatus for removing snow comprising a turbine engine having intake and exhaust sections and being operably connected to a base, a discharge nozzle operably connected to said exhaust section and adapted to discharge said exhaust to an area of interest and controls to initiate operation of said turbine engine and to increase and decrease the power of said exhaust discharging from said discharge nozzle, said turbine engine being rotatable and tiltable relative to said base, an operator's station being separate from said base and operable to control said turbine engine, said operator's station remaining stationary during said rotatable and tiltable movement of said turbine engine relative to said base, said turbine engine having an afterburner to increase the temperature of said exhaust discharging from said discharge nozzle.
- 2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said turbine engine is mounted within a housing and said housing is operably connected to said base.
- 3. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said housing is operably connected to said base through a turntable type connection member to allow said housing to rotate about a vertical axis relative to said base.
- 4. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said housing is operably connected to said base through an axis allowing said housing to tilt about a horizontal axis relative to said base.
- 5. Apparatus as in claim 2 and further comprising a fuel tank for said turbine engine.
- 6. Apparatus as in claim 5 and further comprising a prime mover, said housing and said fuel tank being removably connected to said prime mover.
- 7. Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein said housing is removably mounted on one end of said prime mover and said fuel tank is removably mounted on the other end of said prime mover.
- 8. Method for removing snow from a desired location by an operator positioned at an operator's station, said method comprising initiating operation of a turbine engine mounted on a base by providing fuel to said turbine engine, ingesting air from ambient surroundings into said turbine engine, discharging exhaust from said turbine engine into a discharge nozzle, rotating and tilting said discharge nozzle relative to said operator's station during operation and raising the temperature of said exhaust prior to discharge of said exhaust from said discharge nozzle, said discharge nozzle and said turbine engine being rotatable and tiltable while said operators's station is maintained in said stationary position relative to said discharge nozzle and said turbine engine.
- 9. Method as in claim 8 and further comprising ingesting air through an air intake in a housing within which said turbine engine is mounted.
- 10. Method as in claim 9 and further comprising mounting said housing on a prime mover and moving said prime mover to a desired location with said housing.
- 11. Method as in claim 10 and further comprising providing fuel to said turbine engine from a fuel tank located remotely from said turbine engine.
- 12. Method as in claim 11 and further comprising mounting said ho using on one end of said prime is mover and mounting said fuel tank on the opposite end of said prime mover.
US Referenced Citations (4)