JP6853448B2 - snowblower - Google Patents

Description

The present invention is mainly a rotary type small walking snowplow used in individuals, farmers, stores, offices, small and medium-sized business establishments, etc., and relates to an improvement in snow removal work efficiency and an improvement in safety.

Small walk-type snowplows are now widely used for the individual small lots in snowy regions, apart from large snowplows used on public roads and public facilities managed by the national and prefectural governments. In mountainous areas and foothills where large aircraft cannot enter, demand is now as high as the necessities of snowy countries. In particular, a rotary snowplow that scrapes accumulated snow with a spiral rotary blade, that is, an auger, scrapes the snow, collects it in a blower that discharges snow, and discharges it from a semi-cylindrical shooter that determines the discharge direction, removes snow. The capacity is higher than other methods, and the number of popular units is overwhelmingly large. With this type of snowplow, regardless of whether it is small or large, there have been problems with snow removal parts such as augers, snow adhesion to blowers, and snow clogging in shooters. Due to the adhesion of snow to the rotating parts, the snow removal ability is greatly reduced, leading to the worst, overload, engine rotation down → stop. In addition, if the shooter is clogged with snow, the engine will stop immediately. Furthermore, snow adhesion and snow clogging in the snow removal section are not limited to simply reducing the efficiency of snow removal work. When removing the attached snow or the clogged snow, the auger and the blower may move by mistake, and it is very dangerous to remove the attached snow or the clogged snow in the snow removal part. For this troublesome problem, many measures have been taken to prevent snow adhesion and snow clogging in the snow removal part.

Patent No. 3345583 Patent No. 4573316

Goro Wakamatsu, "Transition of Snow Accretion on Electric Wires and Its Research History," Hokkaido Area Natural Disaster Science Data Center Report, 3 "1988

However, most of the countermeasure technologies so far have focused only on the results of snow adhesion and snow clogging problems, and have not been measures to solve the root cause. That is, paying particular attention to the shooter and blower case, which are the places where snow is clogged, the snow removal part is made easy to discharge with a resin sheet, resin film, etc. with a low coefficient of friction so that snow does not adhere and clog the snow (Patent Document 2). Was most of the time. Although there are some measures that are close to the cause measures that prevent snow accretion itself, they are not measures that fundamentally eliminate the snow accretion mechanism, but are merely trial and error measures (Patent Document 1).

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the rotary snow blower, that is, the root cause of the trouble of snow adhesion to the auger and blower and snow clogging in the shooter, prevents snow adhesion to the snow removal part and snow clogging, and removes snow. By dramatically improving work capacity and eliminating the work of removing adhered snow and clogged snow, we will provide an excellent snow blower with dramatically improved safety.

The means taken in the present invention to solve the above problems are an auger equipped with a prime mover such as an engine or a power motor to remove and collect snow, a blower for discharging snow, and a shooter for determining the direction of snow throwing. A resin that prevents snow from adhering to the surface of the auger wing, auger shaft, or auger wing reinforcement plate (abbreviation, wing reinforcement plate) that constitutes the auger in a walking rotary snow remover that constitutes a snow remover. The member, that is, the resin thin plate, the resin sheet, or the resin film is detachably formed.

The present invention has the following effects by applying the above means.

Regardless of the snow quality and snow conditions, the interruption of snow removal work due to snow adhesion or snow clogging trouble can be greatly reduced, and stable snow removal work can be continued, so that the efficiency of snow removal work is improved.

Safety is improved by significantly reducing the number of operations for removing adhered snow and clogged snow due to troubles during snow removal work.

It is an overall view which shows the walking type rotary snow blower. It is a figure which shows the snow removal part. It is a figure which shows the state which the resin member was formed on the surface of the auger shaft and the blade reinforcing plate. It is an overall view which shows the walking type rotary snow blower which formed the resin member on the surface of an auger shaft and a wing reinforcing plate. It is a figure which shows the effect of preventing the auger snow adhesion.

High molecular weight polyethylene or ultra high molecular weight polyethylene is the best as a resin member to which snow does not easily adhere. Further, if the resin member is formed in close contact with the surface of the entire auger configuration of the auger blade, the auger shaft, and the blade reinforcing plate, the effect of preventing snow adhesion is great, but it is not always necessary because of the maintainability. The effect of preventing snow accretion can be sufficiently obtained only by the first wing reinforcing plate 131, the second wing reinforcing plate 132, the third wing reinforcing plate 133, and the auger shaft 12 portion between them on the auger mission 14 side.

The snow removal section of the snow blower according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows an overall view of the snowplow as viewed from the snowplow side. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the snow removal section (ogre). In the snow removal work, the spiral blade-shaped auger 1 is rotated to bite into the snowfall area and move forward. The auger 1 scrapes the snow and collects the snow in the central blower 2, and the blower 2 throws the snow from the shooter 3 to the left, right, perspective, and the place intended by the operator (Fig. 1).

In the auger 1, the auger blade 11 is welded and fixed around the auger shaft 12 with a blade reinforcing plate 13, and one end of the auger shaft 12 is flanged to the left and right output shafts of the bevel gear type auger mission 14 in pairs and symmetrically. ing. Since the auger wing 11 only needs to remove accumulated snow, it is made of mild steel plate and is treated as a consumable part without unnecessarily increasing its strength or hardness in terms of road surface protection, power train protection, etc. There is. The auger wing 11 is not only used as a wing blade for scraping or scraping accumulated snow, but also for removing the snow to the center of the auger, the blower 2 at the back of the auger mission 14, the auger case 15 and the snow-removing surface. It acts as a spiral conveyor that transfers as a guide (Fig. 2). The blower 2 cuts snow by the auger blade 11, discharges the collected snow to the outlet in the circumferential direction of the blower case 21 by a rotary centrifugal force and a compressed wind force as a centrifugal compressor, and throws snow using the semi-cylindrical shooter 3 as a guide. The shooter 3 can be adjusted in the left-right, up-down (perspective) directions, and the snow-throwing location can be set freely.

The auger 1 is configured to be symmetrical with respect to the traveling direction of the snowplow centering on the auger mission 14, and the symbols are distinguished in FIG. (That is, the left side part L and the right side part R) The shape of the auger blade 11 is currently selected to be a two-row winding structure in which the auger shaft 12 is axisymmetric due to the snow cutting effect, the conveyor transport effect, the manufacturing technology, and the like. The left auger wing 11L is formed with two left-handed windings from the center to the outside, and the right auger wing 11R is formed with two right-handed windings from the center to the outside. The blade reinforcing plate 13L-R that fixes the spiral blade shape of the auger blade 11L-R to two rows around the auger shaft 12L-R that extends from the auger mission 14 to the left and right is the first from the central auger mission 14 side to the outside. 5 sets of wing reinforcement plate 131L-R, 2nd wing reinforcement plate 132L-R, 3rd wing reinforcement plate 133L-R, 4th wing reinforcement plate 134L-R, 5th wing reinforcement plate 135L-R, auger shaft shaft A pair is formed symmetrically. This is also a eliminated configuration, but there are also four sets of small snowplows. With this configuration, the rotation is in the direction of biting into the snow surface from top to bottom, and at the same time as the snow is shaved, the snow is transferred to the center of the auger 1 and the blower 2. This configuration of the auger 1 and a series of snow removal operations further amplify the snow adhesion to the auger 1 that has begun to adhere more than simply the snow adheres to the auger 1 (one side in the lower figure of FIG. 5), and eventually the snow clogging in the shooter 3 Is the cause of this.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Since the implementation is symmetrical, the sign on the right side is omitted.
From the joint side of the left first wing reinforcement plate 131L-R, the second wing reinforcement plate 132L-R, the third wing reinforcement plate 133L-R, and the fourth wing reinforcement plate 134L-R with the respective auger shuft 12L-R. The first reinforcing plate snow accretion cover 51L-R and the second reinforcing plate snow accretion cover 52L-R made of high molecular weight polyethylene sheet are partly or the entire length of the auger blade 11L-R toward the joint side. , The third reinforcing plate snow accretion cover 53L-R and the fourth reinforcing plate snow accretion cover 54L-R are formed so as to be fitted. However, since only the first wing reinforcing plate 131L-R has a welded fixing portion with the flange, a snow accretion cover 51L-R is formed at two places before and after the fixing portion. Further, the first auger shaft snow accretion cover 41L-R and the second auger shaft snow accretion cover 42L-R are similarly fitted into the auger shaft 12L-R between the wing reinforcing plates forming the snow accretion cover. It is formed like this. With the above configuration, it was possible to eliminate snow adhesion to the auger 1 and snow clogging in the shooter 3. In particular, it is extremely effective in fresh snow, heavy snow, and combed snow (wet snow) in early spring, which tend to adhere to metals.

As a result, the applicant has elucidated the mechanism of snow adhesion and snow clogging by conducting test observations throughout the snowfall season and taking some measures. Snow adhesion begins with the auger shaft 12 which has almost no sliding resistance. When the adhesion starts, the auger blade 11 acts on the conveyor to adhere and grow toward the center of the auger. The auger shaft 12 acts as a core that supports the mass of adhering and grown snow, and the wing reinforcing plate 13 acts as a streak. It becomes a mass of snow and blocks the entrance of the blower 2 (one side of the lower figure in FIG. 5). On the other hand, the auger wing 11 constantly rubs against the snow surface while scraping the snow, so that it hardly adheres. Since the discharge force of the blower 2 whose entrance is blocked is greatly reduced and the amount of snow sent into the shooter 3 is also reduced, the discharge force inside the shooter 3 is reduced and the snow throwing force is lost, and the snow inside the shooter 3 is reduced from above. Adhesion begins, and eventually it adheres to the blower case 21, completely clogs the inside of the shooter 3 with snow, and leads to an engine stop. During this time, it is a phenomenon of about several seconds.

The advantage of the present invention is that it suppresses the growth of snow as well as the adhesion of snow. As a matter of course, as a measure to prevent snow adhesion, it is a natural idea to treat the surface of the adhered portion so as not to adhere (Patent Documents 1 and 2). The applicant also started with an attempt to attach a film or sheet (for example, a fluororesin) having low adsorption and low friction to each adhesion surface. However, it was judged from several field evaluations that it would not be a fundamental solution by itself, and as a result of repeated experimental observations, the snow adhesion-snow clogging mechanism was recognized, and until then, the shooter 3 and the blower case 21 had been clogged with snow. We focused on the auger 1, which is the working part of the rotary blade, which was not considered to be directly related. Snow clogging is a result caused by snow adhesion and its growth, and the present invention is a measure to stop it. In particular, the central part of the auger 1 where snow accretion is maximized, the first wing reinforcing plate difficult snow accretion cover 51L-R on both sides of the auger mission 14, the second reinforcing plate difficult snow accretion cover 52L-R, and the first auger shaft difficult snow accretion cover. 41L-R is the most fundamental countermeasure factor.

The effect of the present invention is shown in FIG. The upper row shows a state in which the snow accretion covers 4 and 5 are attached to one side of the auger 1 and the other side is not attached. The state of the auger 1 that has been snow-removed in this state is shown in the lower row (photo). The effect of the invention is obvious. Furthermore, as a result of continuing the actual work observation, the snow accretion covers 4 and 5 do not have snow accretion at all, but fall after the adhesion has grown to some extent, which is a self-cleaning action of adhesion-growth-fall-regeneration. I also understood that. After forming the snow accretion covers 4 and 5, the core and streaks of snow accretion growth disappeared, so that even a slight growth caused the snow to fall by its own weight. Snow still adheres to the fifth wing reinforcing plate 135L to which the snow accretion cover 5 is not attached, but this portion does not matter. The outer side of the auger 1 is less harmful to the operation of the snowplow due to snow adhesion.

There is no research on the theme of snow adhesion on snowplows, but there is a history of more than a century in the field of snow accretion disaster prevention research. In particular, Japan has been a world leader in research on electric wire snow accretion damage in snowy countries for half a century (Non-Patent Document 1). In this, the applicant discovered that the mechanism of snow accretion on electric wires is very similar to the mechanism of snow accretion of auger 1 among those who handle the same snow. Snow accretion of auger corresponds to snow accretion during strong wind snow when compared to snow accretion on electric wires. When snow accretion starts at several places on the electric wire, the strong wind causes the snow to rotate around it along the twist of the electric wire, and the snow accretion grows, eventually forming a whole columnar snow mass between the utility poles and the towers. From the elucidation of this mechanism, a snow accretion ring that stops snow accretion growth was born. With this and the snow accretion tape that covers the surface of the electric wire, it can be dropped when the snow accretion grows to some extent, and the damage caused by snow accretion on the electric wire is almost eliminated now. The snow accretion and growth of the auger 1 is the same mechanism as the snow accretion growth of the electric wire, assuming that the wind on the electric wire is the rotation of the auger shaft 12 itself and the twist of the electric wire is the spiral conveyor action of the auger blade 11. From this, the wing reinforcing plate snow accretion cover 5 of the present invention corresponds to the snow accretion ring for electric wire countermeasures, and the auger shaft snow accretion cover 4 corresponds to the snow accretion tape for electric wire countermeasures. The effect of dropping the snow accretion is the same as that of the electric wire countermeasure, and it can be said that the credibility of the present invention is proved.

High molecular weight or ultra high molecular weight polyethylene was used as the material for the snow accretion covers 4 and 5.
It is common knowledge in the world of skiing and snowboarding that this is the best snow accretion effect over fluororesins. In addition, it has strength, wear resistance, and temperature resistance as an engineering plastic material, and is sufficient as a hard consumable replacement part. In addition, it has high rigidity and can be called a thin plate or a resin leaf spring material rather than a sheet material. Taking advantage of the characteristics of this material, it can be used as a surface forming method for each part of the auger of the snow accretion covers 4 and 5. , The cross section of the wing reinforcing plate and the diameter of the auger shaft were cut from a cylindrical winding material of an appropriate size to a predetermined length, and then fitted into each mounting location. That is enough to fix it as a snow accretion cover. By using this method, it was possible to make the replacement / attachment work as a consumable part very easy. On the other hand, at the beginning of development, the forming method that adheres to the surface by pasting, which was also performed in the trial test, has a very high snow accretion effect, but it is not necessary to do so, and rather it is difficult to peel off at the time of replacement. There is a problem with maintainability. In addition to this, several methods for forming a polyethylene sheet have been tried, but the above method is used in consideration of the necessary and sufficient snow accretion effect and the severe workability in winter.

In the embodiment, in the case of a large snow accretion machine, the snow accretion covers 4 and 5 are formed by forming the first reinforcing plate snow accretion cover 51L-R, the second reinforcing plate snow accretion cover 52L-R, and the third reinforcing plate difficult snow accretion. Snow accretion 53L-R, 4th reinforcing plate snow accretion cover 54L-R, 1st auger shaft snow accretion cover 41L-R, 2nd auger shaft snow accretion cover 42L-R, but found by the applicant The highest principle of "snow accretion self-cleaning action that stops snow accretion growth in the middle" is the first reinforcing plate snow accretion cover 51L-R, the second reinforcement plate snow accretion cover 52L-R, and the first. It is a set of auger shaft snow accretion cover 41L-R, and in the case of a small snow accretion machine, this part alone is sufficiently effective. Even for large aircraft, the third and fourth reinforcing plate snow accretion covers may be omitted depending on the snow quality area. Further, if a snow accretion cover is formed on the fifth wing reinforcing plate and its auger shaft portion, the measures against snow accretion will be higher, but the time and effort required for replacement will increase, which has advantages and disadvantages.

As described above, according to the invention of the present application, it has become possible to quickly and safely remove snow during the snowfall season in winter and whenever necessary. In a harsh environment, during the snow removal work that is competing for the moment, there is no longer an accident that interrupts the work due to snow adhesion or snow clogging, and it is now possible to remove snow without anxiety. Although snow removal work in winter is a tough task, the present invention has contributed to some work comfort.

It is possible to apply the principle of the present invention "snow accretion self-cleaning action of stopping snow accretion growth in the middle and dropping it" to all machines and devices used during the snowfall season that are considered to be damaged by snow accretion growth.

1 auger (snow removal section)
11 auger wing 12 auger shaft 13 wing reinforcement plate 131 1st wing reinforcement plate 132 2nd wing reinforcement plate 133 3rd wing reinforcement plate 134 4th wing reinforcement plate 135 5th wing reinforcement plate 14 auger mission 15 auger case 2 blower 21 blower Case 3 Shooter 4 (for auger shaft) Snow accretion cover 41 1st auger shaft Snow accretion cover 42 2nd auger shaft Snow accretion cover 5 (for wing reinforcement plate) Snow accretion cover 51 1st reinforcement plate Snow accretion Cover 52 2nd reinforcement board snow accretion cover 53 3rd reinforcement board snow accretion cover 54 4th reinforcement board snow accretion cover

Claims (1)

A walking rotary snowplow that is equipped with a prime mover such as an engine or power motor and has a snow removal section composed of an auger 1 that removes and collects snow, a blower 2 that discharges snow, and a shooter 3 that determines the direction of snow throwing. Among the components constituting the auger 1, the first wing reinforcing plate 131L- that fixes the spiral blade shape of the auger wing 11L-R to two strips around the auger shaft 12L-R extending to the left and right from the auger mission 14. Joining R, 2nd wing reinforcement plate 132L-R, 3rd wing reinforcement plate 133L-R, 4th wing reinforcement plate 134L-R, or 5th wing reinforcement plate 135L-R with auger shovel 12L-R A high-molecular-weight polyethylene sheet or an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene sheet is attached to a part or the entire length portion of the length portion from the side to the joint side of the auger blade 11L-R and the auger shaft 12L-R portion between the blade reinforcing plates. A snowplow that is formed so that it can be detachably fitted to prevent snow from adhering to and growing on the snowplow.

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