Patent Grant
11613859
The present invention relates to a system and method for implementing plowing, removal, melting or clearing of snow and ice (and combinations thereof) from the surface or area of pavement including roadways, streets and driveways. More specifically, the present invention relates to snow and ice removal by a system towed behind any type of motor vehicle.
Winter months bring heavy snowfall, sleet, hail, ice and precipitation which impedes and can block the flow of traffic on roadways/streets/driveways and prevent individuals from exiting/entering garages and driveways from which their vehicles are stored. Municipalities, private companies and individuals are tasked with clearing roadways, streets and driveways of snow and ice in order to allow for vehicle traffic to flow and vehicles to exit/enter driveways and garages, parking lots, etc. Current snow and ice clearing technology and techniques are inefficient in several ways.
Current snow clearing technology and techniques are focused on displacing snow and ice, rather than removing it. Current snow and ice clearing techniques will skim the top layers of snow which, along with the compaction from traffic flow, results in the lower layers of snow and ice packing down and making the surface slippery, difficult to navigate and problematic to remove from the roadways. Slippery roadways are unsafe and can result in accidents/injuries for drivers, vehicle crashes and stranded motorists.
Current snow clearing technology and techniques utilize a front of the vehicle for displacing snow and ice, and this often does not completely remove all layers of snow and ice from roadways; thus often requiring: multiple operators, multiple snow clearing vehicles and multiple passes by the snow clearing vehicle(s) in order to more completely clear off roadways of snow and ice, which is costly in the form of time, money, gas and emissions.
Some prior art devices have been focused on either individual use or heavy duty, large-scale municipal use. For example, such has provided for a passenger vehicle, usually an automobile, to tow a single shovel or plow/blade/moldboard in front of or behind the vehicle, which would only be effective to clear a driveway or two, for instance. As another example, such has provided for heavy duty, large-scale municipal snow clearing vehicles or towed trailers for large-scale industrial snow clearing use which are expensive and cost-prohibitive for individuals and private companies.
To address one or more of the deficiency discussed above, there is a need for a system and method that improves current technology or techniques for plowing, melting and clearing, namely removing, snow and ice from pavement, including roadways, streets and driveways.
In view of the foregoing, the disclosure is a system that is towed behind a vehicle to remove snice from pavement. The system includes a trailer. The trailer includes a frame structure, a trailer hitch and a suspension appliance. The frame structure is a longitudinal substantially rigid frame structure with torqueing capability in response to towing of the system when removing snice. The trailer hitch is connected to a front end of the trailer and the trailer hitch enables selective connection-disconnection to the vehicle and separation of a front portion of the frame structure from the pavement when connected to the vehicle. A suspension appliance is connected to a rear portion of the trailer to separate at least a rear portion of the frame structure from the pavement. The suspension appliance includes at least one axel having at least two wheels rotatably secured thereto and capable of moving over the pavement and at least one strut securing the axel to the frame structure. At least two additive snice removal tools are connected to the frame structure and located underneath the trailer and over the pavement. Each of the removal tools is enabling a different type of snice removal from the pavement when towing the system behind the vehicle to remove snice from the pavement.
Also described herein is a method of using a system behind a vehicle for removing snice from pavement. One step of the method is towing a trailer behind the vehicle. The trailer includes a longitudinal substantially rigid frame structure with torqueing capability in response to towing of the trailer when removing snice. Another step is selectively connecting-disconnecting the trailer to the vehicle and separating a front portion of the frame structure from the pavement when the trailer is connected to the vehicle. Yet another steps is providing a suspension appliance to a rear portion of the trailer to separate at least a rear portion of the frame structure from the pavement. The suspension appliance includes at least one axel having at least two wheels rotatably secured thereto and capable of moving over the pavement and at least one strut securing the axel to the frame structure. Still another step is enabling at least two different types of additive snice removal from the pavement when towing the trailer behind the vehicle to remove snice from the pavement.
Other embodiments of the system can include various additional and alternative features as described herein.
As used herein, “snice” means snow, ice and all types in between, and combinations thereof, that could include any form of solid-phase water from slightly solid, to very rigidly solid and pieces and parts of snow and ice in its various types, that is located on pavement and can be removed therefrom.
As used herein, “pavement” means roadways, streets, driveways and any surface where it is desirable to remove snice to aid the passing of vehicles or persons over that surface more safely.
As used herein, “connected” (and formatives thereof) means the components or parts are attached to each other and would require a force to separate them.
As used herein, “directly” means there is substantially no intervening components or function that adversely impacts the relatedness of the two components or their functions.
As used herein, “indirectly” means there is some intervening components or function that separates the relatedness of the two components or their functions.
The invention may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The drawings show some but not all embodiments. The elements depicted in the drawings are illustrative and not necessarily to scale, and the same (or similar) reference numbers denote the same (or similar) features throughout the drawings.
In accordance with the practice of at least one embodiment of the invention, as seen in
Without being limited to a particular theory of understanding, the inventor has surprisingly discovered his system allows for both the front and the rear of the snow removal vehicle to simultaneously be used to plow, clear and ultimately remove snice from pavement. Utilizing both the front and rear of the vehicle is more efficient, effective and productive at removing snice. By utilizing both a vehicle's front-end plow and system 20 towed behind the vehicle, the system is more effective and does a better job of removing snice; which results in clearer, less slippery surfaces and improved drivability on pavement. For example, with system 20, removing snice from pavement can now be done in one pass, versus the usual two or more passes by conventional snow clearing equipment and techniques. Clearer, less slippery driving pavement also means improved safety and fewer accidents/injuries for drivers and reduced number of vehicle crashes and stranded motorists. The present system is also more cost-effective in saving time and money and avoiding having multiple operators, multiple snow removal vehicles, multiple passes by snow removal vehicles, and reducing gas and emissions.
Turning to other particulars of the system 20, the longitudinal substantially rigid aspects to frame structure 50 provide the trailer with torqueing capability in response to towing of system 20 and the forces it will encounter when removing snice. The trailer needs to be generally rigid but have some flexibility as makes sense to one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings here, so it can bend and not break in response to road and snice impacts by the trailer and the removal tools. In this regard, preferably the trailer frame structure is constructed of, for example, reinforced square pipe framing which is better equipped to handle torqueing, bending and movement of the frame due to the pressure of pushing heavy snice by the trailer when towed behind the vehicle. That is, trailer 40 is designed and reinforced to withstand heavy pressure from the front portion of the frame structure (i.e., think of pressure horizontally), because of the heavy snice that is being pushed from the front end of the trailer. Much differently, a conventional trailer frame (think of/looks like a bed frame) is designed to withstand heavy weight from on top of the trailer. For example, similar to how a tow truck frame is reinforced from the rear (i.e., horizontal pressure) because it has to tow heavy vehicles from the rear, the present trailer 40 similarly uses this reinforced frame technology, but in the opposite direction (from the front) for trailer 40 and for its removal tools connected thereto.
In other aspects of the system and method, and in part due to its frame structure and orientation of the removal tools, the trailer can be operated at a high rate of speed to keep up with the flow of traffic and not impede or slow down the commute of traffic, especially when the additive snice removal tools are disengaged and in transport/not in use. Further, the system 20 can be utilized behind and by: heavy duty and large-scale municipal snow removal usage and entities, private snow removal company's usage and entities and/or individuals' usage for roadways, streets and driveway's snice removal. As such, the motor vehicle used with the system can be heavy duty municipal trucks, vehicles and earth movers, tractors, Bobcats/ATV's, pickup trucks, passenger automobiles, snow removal machines and/or snowblowers, tractors and skid steers.
The inventor's system is rear connected and towed behind the vehicle utilizing all types and forms of trailer hitches 42 including, but not limited to: standard hitches, rear receiver hitches, fifth wheel hitches, gooseneck hitches, pintle hitches, bumper hitches, weight distribution hitches and/or other types of hitches for towing a trailer behind a moving vehicle. The system can use conventional electrical controls and hydraulic hookups for towed trailers. Further, additionally, the trailer can include at least one trailer stabilizer 44 connected to the frame structure at the front end 46 of the trailer for added durability when needed to more rigidly connect the trailer and vehicle. Stabilizer 44 can be configured to enable selective connection-disconnection to the vehicle, e.g., to its bumper and/or to its rear axle and/or to any other appropriate part of the rear end of the vehicle, and either temporarily to more permanently, to provide additional stability to the trailer in response to towing of the system when removing snice. The system is portable and transportable from one location to another and can be more easily disconnected when not needed, as added benefit when desired. In regards to being disconnected from the vehicle, preferably then a trailer hitch stand 42a is connected to trailer 40 in the vicinity of the hitch 42, to be the primary support for the front end of the trailer and keep trailer 40 and the removal tools located underneath the trailer from being damaged by engaging the pavement when system 20 is disconnected from the vehicle.
An added feature of the present system is that the frame structure of the trailer, depending on the size of the frame structure, if it possesses a bed (shown) and sides/walls (not shown), can hold and store: one or more snow removal machines such as ATV's, Bobcats®, snow scrapper(s), brush(es) or snowblowers; one or multiple heavy bags of salt, sand, gravel, etc.; and/or one or multiple large containers of brine, de-icer, etc., and which can add additional weight to the system for additional stability, support and traction when dealing with particularly heavy snow and ice storms and significant accumulation and compaction of snice on pavement.
The removal tools 71 to 84, inclusive, can be disengaged or turned off when not in use, and can be operated manually or through electronic controls and connected mechanisms, and are movable closer and away from the pavement as desired. In one embodiment, at least one of the additive snice removal tools can be a duplicate of such tool. For example, as seen in
Without being limited to a theory of understanding, the snice removal tools are considered additive because of their increased efficiency and effectiveness through utilizing multiple methods or techniques of snice removal, and for example, preferably (though only required for at least two), in a specific sequential order when they are system 20 and towed behind a vehicle. Much differently, conventional snice equipment and techniques enable only one or two ways for snice removal, e.g. a front plow truck and a salt spreader on the back of the truck. In other aspects of the system, each additive snice removal tool is a member from the group of choppers 71 (
Still other features of the system are directed to other particulars of the removal tools. Elongated blades may be like 73 in
Rotating brush(es) 76 are one embodiment of manually or electronically-controlled, movable and rotating scrapper(s)/brush(es) to displace remaining snice off pavement and connected (e.g., in front of, to the side of, behind the rear of, underneath and/or on top) to trailer frame 50. The rotating scrapper(s)/brush(es) 76 can be selectively raised and lowered and move forward, backward, sideways, horizontal, vertical and/or change direction simultaneously or individually, as desired. Bracket(s) 77 are one example for connecting trailer frame 50 to rotating scrapper(s)/brush(es) 76.
Air blower(s) 78 is one embodiment of manually or electronically-controlled blower(s) to displace, and/or melt with heat, remaining snice off pavement and connected (e.g., in front of, to the side of, behind the rear of, underneath and/or on top) to the trailer frame 50. In another embodiment for blower 78, it can be attaching directly to (and directly behind) respective bracket 77 and to the frame and then the embodiment of the blower will break up snice resulting in snice chips and particles on the pavement that then the air blower comes subsequently in the process and blows them away from the driving surface. In the rear portion of the trailer is located second air blower 81, and seen is one embodiment of manually or electronically-controlled heater(s) blowing, and this time preferably with hot air to melt snice on the pavement surface and connected (e.g., in front of, to the side of, behind the rear of, underneath and/or on top) to the trailer frame 50.
A snice vacuum 79 is one embodiment of manually or electronically-controlled vacuum(s) to suction up snice from the pavement and connected (e.g., in front of, to the side of, behind the rear of, underneath and/or on top) to the trailer frame 50. Related to this, holding melting tank 80 is one embodiment of manually or electronically-controlled holding/melting tank for the snice that is suctioned up by the vacuum(s) 79. Heat source 82, for one or more of tank 80, as well as blowers 78, 81, is one embodiment of manually or electronically-controlled heating source(s) used to generate the heat used by the tank 80, and blowers 78, 81, and connected via piping thereto appropriately, to melt the snice.
Finally, in the rear portion 48 of the trailer, can be a couple different types of dispersing tools. There is one embodiment of manually or electronically-controlled salt/sand/gravel spreader(s) 83 to melt snice on the pavement and improve driveability and connected (e.g., in front of, to the side of, behind the rear of, underneath and/or on top) to trailer frame 50. In another embodiment there is manually or electronically-controlled de-icer/brine sprayer(s) 84 to melt snice on pavement and improve driveability and connected (e.g., in front of, to the side of, behind the rear of, underneath and/or on top) to the trailer frame 50.
Specifically in reference to
The present disclosure is also directed to a method of using system 20 behind vehicle 30 for removing snice 32 from pavement 34. As seen in
Stated further, and exemplified in the various embodiments of the method of using system 20 as described herein, it is better able to adapt to changing weather conditions during the phases of a blizzard/snowstorm than any conventional snow and ice clearing system. For example, when there is a heavy snowstorm it often goes through four stages. First, there is rapid temperature decline and precipitation converts from liquid to snow. During this phase, system 20 will be primarily utilizing its spreader 83 and sprayer 84 along with the elongated blades 73, 73b and brush(es) 76 to address this initial storm stage (i.e., rain, sleet, hail and heavy snow fall). Second, there is blanket snow. During this snow/blizzard phase, system 20 engages its chopper tools 71, elongated blades 73, 73a, and elongated wings 73a and brush(es) 76 as the primary focus of use. Third, there is reduction in snowfall. During this snow/blizzard phase, system 20 will be utilizing all features in combination to remove heavy snow from pavement and the beginning stages of removing the crust of the compacted snice on the pavement. For the fourth and final stage in our example, there is dry pavement. During this snow/blizzard phase, system 20 will be utilizing the brush(es) 76, blower(s) 78 and 81, heating source 82 in combo with blower(s) 78 and 81 and snice vacuum 79 to suck up and eliminate any final snice on the pavement.
The method includes various steps, and they can be in various order as desired and stated herein. A first step is towing the trailer 40 behind the vehicle, the trailer including the longitudinal substantially rigid frame structure with torqueing capability in response to towing of the trailer when removing snice. Another step is selectively connecting the trailer to the vehicle and separating the front portion of the frame structure from the pavement when the trailer is connected to the vehicle. There is also a step of providing the suspension appliance to the rear portion of the trailer to separate at least the rear portion of the frame structure from the pavement. In this step, the suspension appliance includes at least one axel having at least two wheels rotatably secured thereto and capable of moving over the pavement and at least one strut securing the axel to the frame structure. And, in its most simple form, a final step is enabling at least two different types of additive snice removal from the pavement when towing the trailer behind the vehicle to remove snice from the pavement.
To further practice additional, preferred, aspects of the method, other steps may be employed, as follows. The step of enabling can be connecting at least two additive snice removal tools to the frame structure and locating them underneath the trailer and over the pavement. Alternately, or additionally, enabling can be two steps of the same type of additive snice removal from the pavement and one step of a different type of additive snice removal from the pavement, e.g., one blade 73 followed by two brushes 76. Alternately, for example, the two steps of the same type of additive snice removal from the pavement can both precede the one step of the different type of additive snice removal from the pavement, e.g., two blades 73 followed by one brush 76.
Yet additionally, another step can be locating before the front end 46 of the trailer 40 a hitch area substantially rigid frame structure 56 with torqueing capability in response to towing of the trailer 40 when removing snice. Further in this regard, the method may include enabling at least one type of additive snice removal in proximity to the hitch area 56 when towing the trailer behind the vehicle to remove snice from the pavement. And further, if desired, each enabling step can be for a different type of additive snice removal from the pavement.
In other aspects, the method may include each additive snice removal type is a member from the group of tools 71, 73 (including 73a, 73b), 76, 78/81, 79, 83 or 84, to enable, respectively, chopping, elongated blading, rotary brushing, air blowing, snice vacuuming, solid spreading and/or liquid spraying. Further in this regard, preferably, the enabling step includes sequentially staging each additive snice removal type to further lessen an amount of snice remaining on the pavement from the additive snice removal step that preceded it when the trailer is towed behind the vehicle for snice removal from the pavement. Still further in this regard, preferably, the sequentially staging step includes at least two members one following the other, directly or indirectly, from the group of: chopping followed by elongated blading, followed by rotary brushing, followed by air blowing, followed by snice vacuuming, followed by solid spreading, followed by liquid spreading.
Each and every document cited in this present application, including any cross referenced or related patent or application, is incorporated in this present application in its entirety by this reference, unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited. The citation of any document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect to any embodiment disclosed in this present application or that it alone, or in any combination with any other reference or references, teaches, suggests, or discloses any such embodiment. Further, to the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this present application conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to that term in this present application governs.
The present invention includes the description, examples, embodiments, and drawings disclosed; but it is not limited to such description, examples, embodiments, or drawings. As briefly described above, the reader should assume that features of one disclosed embodiment can also be applied to all other disclosed embodiments, unless expressly indicated to the contrary. Unless expressly indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the present application are approximations that can vary depending on the desired properties sought to be obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without undue experimentation using the teachings disclosed in the present application. Modifications and other embodiments will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the pavement snice clearing, removing, lessening arts, and all such modifications and other embodiments are intended and deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Non-provisional application Ser. No. 16/402,160, filed May 2, 2019, titled: DEVICE, APPARATUS, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING PLOWING, REMOVAL, MELTING AND CLEARING OF SNOW AND ICE FROM PAVEMENT UTILIZING A TOWED SNOW AND ICE REMOVAL TRAILER.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16402160 | May 2019 | US |
| Child | 16869551 | US |
