JPH0125867B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a snow removal device that can safely and easily remove snow accumulated on the roof of a building.

(Prior art) Damage caused by snow in snowy areas is enormous. In particular, snow damage on buildings such as houses is serious, and people who climb onto the roof to remove snow may slip and fall.
There have also been a number of accidents where passersby have been injured by falling snow. Moreover, climbing onto roofs to remove snow during winter is a labor-intensive and time-consuming task for residents, resulting in enormous economic and time losses. Against this background, there has been a need for a safe and simple snow removal device.

Conventional snow removal devices include those that install snow melting devices such as electric heaters and hot water pipes on the roof to melt and wash the snow away, and those that install snow sweeping devices on the roof to mechanically remove snow. The former requires a large amount of energy to melt the snow and is not very economical.
In addition, the latter type of snow-sweeping equipment required a large-scale machine, and the equipment with a simple mechanism had problems with reliability. Furthermore, in the summer when there is no snow, conventional snow removal equipment is of no use and furthermore, it spoils the appearance of the house.

(Objective of the Invention) The present invention aims to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and is capable of safely and easily removing snow when it snows, can be stored compactly under the eaves during the non-snowy season, and furthermore, can be used in summer. To provide a multifunctional and economical snow removal device that can be used as a sunshade during the season of strong sunshine.

(Structure of the Invention) The snow removal device of the present invention comprises: a) a plurality of rails fixed in parallel to each other on the roof of a building; and b) long and thin strip-shaped rails extending in a direction perpendicular to the rails and free from each other. a plurality of boards connected by a hinge-like connecting member and slidably provided on the rail; c. a driving means for moving the boards from the roof to the under-eaves area or from the under-eaves to the roof; Each of the rails has one end on the eave side of the roof extending around the eave part to the under-eaves part, and the tip thereof is fixed to the building.

Further, when the board is on the roof, the side surfaces of adjacent boards are in contact with each other and are arranged horizontally without any gaps, and when moved to the under eaves of the rail, the main surfaces are in contact with each other and hang down. be accommodated.

In such a configuration, snow falls on a board placed flat on the roof, and the snow is removed by moving the board to the area under the eaves as appropriate, and when it is not needed, the board is stored under the eaves. Make it.

(Description of Embodiments) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall appearance of a snow removal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A plurality of rails 1 are installed on a snowfall surface such as the roof of a building such as a house, and a plurality of boards 2 are provided on the rails 1, which are foldably connected by a hinge structure. Shaft 3 is located near the upper end of rail 1.
A winch 4 attached to the board 2 is provided, and the board 2 is supported by a wire 5 from the winch 4. A gearbox 6 having a pulley is provided at the end of the shaft 3, and the gearbox 6 is connected to an electric winch 7 via a power transmission section.

The board 2 needs to be made of a material with excellent weight resistance so that it can withstand a large amount of snow. at least
It must be ensured that it does not break under a pressure of 5t/ ^m2 . Furthermore, since it is a building accessory, it is desirable that it be of a composition that is difficult to burn in the event of a fire, etc., and the lighter it is, the longer its lifespan will be. Meeting these requirements can be achieved through composite structures rather than single materials such as concrete or metal. For example, it is preferable to use a high-strength steel frame material as the frame, and to use a plate or plywood made of aluminum or flame-resistant plastic for the surface. Furthermore, although synthetic wood is inferior in terms of nonflammability, it is preferable in terms of workability and strength. In addition, high-density polyethylene,
By using metal in the framework of materials such as polyacetal, vinyl chloride, and nylon, it is possible to create materials with sufficient strength and cold resistance.

The size of the board varies depending on the size of the roof, but a thickness of 2 to 10 cm, preferably 4 to 6 cm, is preferred from the viewpoint of storage. The width can be varied from 30 to 80 cm depending on the roof.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the rail 1 is extended to the under-eaves part, bypassing a part A fixed linearly on the roof (hereinafter referred to as the roof rail) and the eaves part of the roof. The end portion 8 of the under-eave rail B is fixed to the wall 9 of the house. Since the roof rail A supports a large amount of weight, a thick and heavy-resistant rail is used. Preferable materials include iron and stainless steel. Furthermore, since the under-eave rail B only supports the weight of the board 2, it is not necessary to have as much thickness as the roof-top rail A. These rails can also be configured to be removable at the end of the eave so that they can be removed and not used during seasons other than winter.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the rail 1 and the board 2, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA'. The plurality of boards 2 are each provided with pulleys 11, 12, 13 that slide on the rail 1, and the pulleys 12, 13 at the end of the ridge side of the roof are provided with support members 14 so as to sandwich the upper part of the rail 1. They are facing each other. That is,
A part of the support member 14 is rotatably mounted on the board coaxially with the pulley 12, and a pulley 13 is attached to the other end of the support member 14.
is installed. On the roof, the pulley 12 on the board side mainly supports the weight and slides.
At the curved part of the rail at the eave, the board 2 changes direction as shown in Figure 2, one end of which hangs down, and the pulley 12 on the board side becomes the underside of the rail.
The pulley 13 on the rail side comes to the upper side of the rail, and the pulley 13 supports the weight. The boards, which are arranged flat on the roof, hang down under the eaves and are stacked horizontally and folded, allowing them to be stored compactly under the eaves.

The boards 2 are connected to each other by a hinge 2 consisting of plate-shaped bodies 21, 22, 23, and 24 rotatably connected by support shafts 17, 18, and 19, as shown in FIG.
6, and the folded state under the eaves is as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the hinge 26 is disposed at an intermediate position where there is no pulley. Note that, of course, the connection of the boards is not limited to hinges, and may be constructed using other link mechanisms or flexible members.

As shown in FIG. 1, the board is raised and lowered by supporting the board on a wire 5 and gently winding up or loosening one end of the wire 5 using a winch 4 installed at the top of the roof. A plurality of winches 4 are provided at the top of the roof, each of which is coupled to a shaft 3.
The end portion of is connected to a power source such as an electric winch 7 via a gearbox 6, a belt transmission 30, etc. The other end of the wire 5 is connected to an electric winch 7 via a pulley 31, so that when lowering the board, it is pulled from the bottom.

Bearings in such mechanical devices may freeze and stop working. The bearings on the boards are not so much of a problem since they only support the boards and the snowpack, but the winch section at the top of the roof that is used to raise and lower these boards is an important moving part and should be prevented from freezing. Must. To achieve this, the box housing the winch should be able to be heated. For example, attaching a sheet heating element to a winch box,
Freezing can be removed or prevented by heating to around 10°C or higher when necessary.

In the above embodiments, a wire and an electric winch were used as driving means to move the board from the roof to the eave area, or from the eave area to the roof, but other driving means, such as a hydraulic piston or a link mechanism, were used. It can also be composed of

When the snow removal device of the present invention is made to operate to remove snow periodically, for example every hour, when there is a lot of snowfall, the device will always be used under a light load condition. It is good to be able to reduce failures, etc. In order to do this automatically, the power section may be configured to be driven by a timer.

In addition, since the operation of removing snow involves handling heavy objects whose weight varies depending on the snow situation, it is necessary to use a computer to control the speed at which the board is raised and lowered to an appropriate speed according to the weight. You may also do so. When this computer is used, it is also possible to manage the timer of the above-mentioned snow removal time appropriately depending on snowfall.

Furthermore, if the device of the present invention is used to remove snow during snowfall, snow may get under the board until it is lowered, making it difficult to raise the board. In order to avoid this,
It is preferable that the uppermost board is provided with snow-protecting blades 33, as shown in FIG.

When the snow removal device of the present invention is raised, it has a structure that looks like a double roof, and its appearance is not much different from a normal roof, but the snow removal device has an unusual appearance. It doesn't really make it unsightly, so you don't have to remove it even in seasons other than winter. Especially in seasons with strong sunlight such as summer, the board acts as a sunshade and has a great effect on cooling the inside of the house.
It is possible to kill two birds with one stone.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, snow can be safely and easily removed when it snows, and when it is not snowing or in seasons other than winter, it can be stored compactly under the eaves. Furthermore, it can also be used as a sunshade to great effect during seasons such as summer when the sun is strong.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of a rail and board attached to a house viewed from the side, and Figs. 3 and 4 are a diagram showing the structure of the rail and board attached to a house. Figure 5 is a diagram showing the relationship with the hinge when the board is unfolded flat on the roof, and Figure 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the board and the hinge when it is folded and stored under the eaves, etc. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the connection position of the butterfly, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the blade portion for preventing snow from entering. 1...Rail, 2...Board, 3...Shaft, 4...Winch, 5...Wire, 6...Gearbox, 7...Electric winch, 8...Tip of eave rail B, 9...House wall, 11, 12,
13... Pulley, 14... Support member, 17, 18,
19... Support shaft, 21, 22, 23, 24... Plate body, 33... Blade portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 a. A plurality of rails fixed in parallel to each other on the roof of a building, each of which has one end on the eaves side of the roof that extends around the eaves part to the under-eaves part, Its tip is fixed to the building. b. A plurality of boards in the form of elongated strips perpendicular to the rails, connected to each other by flexible hinge-like connecting members, and provided so as to be able to slide freely on the rails; when the boards are on the roof, Adjacent boards are arranged so that their side surfaces touch each other without any gaps, and when moved to the under-eaves portion of the rail, they are housed so that their main surfaces touch each other and hang down. (c) a driving means for moving the board from the roof to the under-eaves area or from the under-eaves to the roof; The snow removal device is characterized in that the snow removal device is configured to remove snow by moving the board to the board, and store the board under the eaves when it is not needed.