Excavating – Snow or ice removing or grooming by portable device – Motorized rotary excavating tool
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-20
2001-06-19
Pezzuto, Robert E. (Department: 3671)
Excavating
Snow or ice removing or grooming by portable device
Motorized rotary excavating tool
C037S248000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06247254
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pair of wing assemblies for attachment to known snow clearing machines which employ an impeller, such as snow throwers for domestic use. Typically, the impeller is contained within a housing with a forward opening therein to facilitate the feeding of snow to the impeller as the snow thrower is operated.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
The use of blades or wings in conjunction with a snow thrower is known. For example, Canadian Patent No. 671,590 granted to Worrel discloses a pair of forwardly extending side plates detachably connected to a snow thrower. A disadvantage of this type of blade, however, is that the flat design of the blades does not assist in scooping the snow and causing it to roll into the path of the impeller. A further disadvantage of this type of blade is that the fixed nature of the blades makes them inconvenient to attach or remove and ill-adapted to different snowfall conditions.
Another type of device, such as that disclosed in Canadian Patent No. 1,161,462 granted to Kelly, is an apparatus mounted onto the arms of a front end loader to scoop snow into an intake opening when the apparatus moves forward. Hydraulic rams are used to raise and lower wings to increase maneuverability of the vehicle. This type of device also suffers from being difficult to remove and attach and is limited to a single mode of operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is desirable to be able to increase the utility and versatility of domestic snow clearing devices by providing the operator with a choice of modes of operation to better suit the task at hand while providing a simple, convenient and inexpensive positioning mechanism. It is also desirable to provide a shaped wing adapted to effectively scoop snow and feed it to the impeller of the snow thrower. It is further desirable to provide for the convenient storage of the snow clearing machine without the need to remove the wing assemblies.
The present invention provides for a pair of wing assemblies for attachment to snow removal equipment having a housing with a forward opening for feeding snow to an impeller, each wing assembly being attachable to an opposite side of the housing and comprising: a wing having a front surface, a back surface, and top, bottom and side edges, the front surface being concave about a horizontal axis; a locking arm having first and second end portions; and a rack having a front portion and a rear portion, the rack being fixed in a horizontal orientation to a side of the housing with the front portion proximate to the forward opening; a proximal side edge of the wing being pivotally connected to a front portion of the rack and a first end portion of the locking arm being pivotally connected to the back surface of the wing in spaced relation from the front portion of the rack so that the wing may move in a horizontal plane, a second end portion of the locking arm being capable of being selectively fixed to the rack in a plurality of positions so as to lock the wing in at least a first and a second operative position and the locking arm being capable of disengagement from the rack so as to permit the wing to assume an inoperative third position.
The present invention further provides for snow removal equipment having a housing with a forward opening for feeding snow to an impeller and provided with a wing assembly attached to each side of the housing, each wing assembly comprising: a wing having a front surface, a back surface, top, bottom and side edges, the front surface being concave about a horizontal axis; a locking arm having first and second end portions; and a rack having a front portion and a rear portion, the rack being fixed in a horizontal orientation to a side of the housing with the front portion proximate to the forward opening; a proximal side edge of the wing being pivotally connected to a front portion of the rack and a first end portion of the locking arm being pivotally connected to the back surface of the wing in spaced relation from the front portion of the rack so that the wing may move in a horizontal plane, a second end portion of the locking arm being capable of being selectively fixed to the rack in a plurality of positions so as to lock the wing in at least a first and a second operative position and the locking arm being capable of disengagement from the rack so as to permit the wing to assume an inoperative third position. Alternatively, the locking arm may be capable of disengagement from the wing so as to assume an inoperative storage position.
A single wing assembly is contemplated within the scope of the invention, for example, for the purposes of replacement parts. Accordingly, another aspect of the invention provides snow removal equipment having a housing with a forward opening for feeding snow to an impeller and provided with a wing assembly attached to each side of the housing, each wing assembly comprising: a wing having a front surface, a back surface, top, bottom and side edges, the front surface being concave about a horizontal axis; a locking arm having first and second end portions; and a rack having a front portion and a rear portion, the rack being fixed in a horizontal orientation to a side of the housing with the front portion proximate to the forward opening; a proximal side edge of the wing being pivotally connected to a front portion of the rack and a first end portion of the locking arm being pivotally connected to the back surface of the wing in spaced relation from the front portion of the rack so that the wing may move in a horizontal plane, a second end portion of the locking arm being capable of being selectively fixed to the rack in a plurality of positions so as to lock the wing in at least a first and a second operative position and the locking arm being capable of disengagement from the rack so as to permit the wing to assume an inoperative third position.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1552714 (1925-09-01), Linzy
patent: 1594095 (1926-07-01), Fey et al.
patent: 2281289 (1942-04-01), Hewitt
Emch, Schaffer, Schaub & Porcello & Co., L.P.A.
Pezzuto Robert E.
Wessman Brian
LandOfFree
Snow wings does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Snow wings, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Snow wings will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2536067