Technical field

The present invention relates to a snowplow, particularly of the type adapted for removing snow accumulated on roads.

Background Art

Nowadays, for removing snow accumulated on roads, snowplows are known which have a snow blower in front and an orientable deflector which is adapted to direct the jet of snow removed from the road by the snow blower, in a predefined direction.

In this way, the snow removed from the road is generally thrown onto the sides of the carriageway, where it therefore forms piles of snow which obstruct sidewalks, where these are provided, and/or areas both public and private.

In particular, the jet of snow thrown aside by means of the deflector risks damaging furnishings which are privately owned or public property and are arranged at the sides of the carriageway to be swept.

Therefore, a need that is much felt in the field of building snowplows consists in providing snowplows that can remove the snow from the road without throwing it onto the sides of the carriageway or accumulating it thereon.

Disclosure of the Invention

The aim of the present invention is to provide a snowplow that satisfies this requirement, making it possible to remove the snow from the road, transport it and unload it easily in pre-established locations.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a snowplow that is safe to use, particularly during the step of unloading the snow that it has removed from the road.

A further object of the invention is to provide a snowplow that is structurally simple and easy to use, and can be produced at relatively low cost.

This aim, as well as these and other objects which will become more evident hereinafter, are achieved by a snowplow, particularly of the type adapted for removing snow accumulated on roads, comprising a tractor equipped with a snow blower arranged at the front, and characterized in that it further comprises

- a body for collecting the snow removed by said snow blower, said body being towed by said tractor and being able to tip in order to unload snow collected therein,

- a conveyor for the snow removed by said snow blower, connected to a discharge port of said snow blower and arranged so as to direct a jet of snow, which it conveys during use, toward the inside of said body,

- means for heating at least one heatable part of said body, which are adapted for separation, by thermal action, of snow collected therein during use.

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of the snowplow according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of a snowplow, according to the invention, in a perspective view;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of heating means of the body of a snowplow, in a first embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of heating means of the body of a snowplow, in a second embodiment of the invention.

Ways of carrying out the Invention

It should be noted that everything that is found to be already known during the patenting process is understood not to be claimed and to be the subject of a disclaimer.

With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 10 generally indicates a snowplow, particularly of the type adapted for removing snow accumulated on roads, comprising a tractor 11 equipped with a snow blower 12 arranged at the front and having a distinctive characteristic in that it further comprises

- a body 13 for collecting the snow removed by the snow blower 12, the body 13 being towed by the tractor 11 and able to tip so as to unload snow collected therein,

- a conveyor 14 for the snow removed by the snow blower 12, connected to a discharge port of the snow blower 12 and arranged so as to direct a jet of snow, which it conveys during use, toward the inside of the body 13,

- means 15 for heating heatable parts A of the body 13, which are adapted for separation, by thermal action, of snow collected therein during use.

Advantageously, the heating means 15 comprise at least one heating circuit 16 which is provided in the body 13 and forms therein the heatable parts A, and is adapted for the circulation of a heat transfer fluid.

In alternative embodiments, according to the contingent requirements, the heating means can comprise more than one heating circuit.

Conveniently, the heating circuit 16 comprises

- four lateral branches 17a, 17b, 17c and 17d, provided correspondingly in the four side walls 18a, 18b, 18c and 18d of the body 13, - a bottom branch 19, provided in the bottom 20 of the body 13.

In general, depending on the contingent implementation requirements of the invention, the heating circuit conveniently comprises selectively at least one of

- at least one lateral branch provided correspondingly in at least one side wall of the body, and - at least one bottom branch, provided in the bottom of the body.

In a first embodiment of the invention, with particular reference to Figure 2, the heating means 15 conveniently comprise

- a boiler 21 for heating the heat transfer fluid,

- a pump 22 for the circulation of the heat transfer fluid in the heating circuit 16,

- the heating circuit 16, connected in a circuit to the boiler 21 and to the circulation pump 22,

the heat transfer fluid being a liquid, conveniently water supplemented with an antifreeze substance.

The heating means 15 furthermore and conveniently comprise a burner 23 for heating the boiler 21, preferably powered by diesel.

Preferably, the lateral branches 17a, 17b, 17c and 17d and the bottom branch 19 comprise a supply duct 24 and a return duct 25, which are connected in a circuit to the boiler 21 and to the circulation pump 22, further comprising coils 26 which are connected, in parallel, at one of their ends to the supply duct 24 and at the opposite end to the return duct 25.

In general, in alternative and substantially equivalent embodiments of the invention, depending on contingent requirements, at least one branch, selectively at least one lateral branch or at least one bottom branch, comprises a supply duct and a return duct, which are connected in a circuit to the boiler and to at least one circulation pump, further comprising coils which are connected, in parallel, at one of their ends to the supply duct and at the opposite end to the return duct.

In particular, the four lateral branches 17a, 17b, 17c and 17d are conveniently provided respectively in the side walls 18a and 18c, in the front wall 18d and in the rear wall 18b, of the body 13.

Conveniently, the rear wall 18b is pivoted in an upper region to the side walls 18a and 18c so as to tilt with respect to them, for unloading snow collected in the body 13, the heating circuit 16 comprising flexible joints 27 for the connection between a first lateral branch 17b of the lateral branches 17a, 17b, 17c and 17d, which is provided in the rear wall 18b, and second lateral branches 17b and 17c of the lateral branches 17a, 17b, 17c and 17d, which are provided correspondingly in the side walls 18a and 18c.

Preferably, a snowplow, according to the invention, further comprises

- a device 28 for controlling the burner 23 and the circulation pump 22, connected to them so as to drive them, and

- sensors 29 for detecting the temperature of the heat transfer fluid in the heating circuit 16, to receive from it temperature signals as a function of which to drive the burner 23 and the circulation pump 22.

In a second embodiment of the invention, the heat transfer fluid advantageously consists in the exhaust gases of the internal combustion engine 30 for the propulsion of the snowplow 10.

The heating circuit 16, illustrated in Figure 3 for the purposes of non- limiting example, in this second embodiment conveniently comprises a receiving connection 31 and a return connection 32 which are interconnected between the pipe 33 for the discharge of the exhaust gases from the internal combustion engine 30, and two lateral branches, indicated in Figure 3 by 117a and 117c, which are provided respectively in the side walls 18a and 18c of the body 13.

In general, according to the contingent requirements of the invention, in alternative variations of the second embodiment the heating circuit in a substantially equivalent manner can conveniently comprise a receiving connection and a return connection which are interconnected between the pipe for the discharge of the exhaust gases from the internal combustion engine, and at least one branch which can be either at least one lateral branch or said at least one bottom branch.

Advantageously, the following are also provided:

- temperature sensors, indicated in Figure 3 by the reference numeral 129, provided in the body 13 so as to detect the temperature of the heatable part,

- a valve 34 for shunting the exhaust gases, which is adapted to close the connections 31 and 32 or alternately to impose the flow of the exhaust gases produced by the internal combustion engine 30 through them,

- a control device, indicated in Figure 3 by the reference numeral 128, for actuating the shunt valve 34, connected thereto so as to drive it and further connected to the temperature sensors 129 to receive from them a temperature signal as a function of which to drive the shunt valve 34.

Conveniently, according to the contingent requirements, there can be a plurality of shunt valves.

The side walls 18a, 18b, 18c and 18d and bottom 20 preferably have interspaces for accommodating respectively lateral branches 17a, 17b, 17c and 17d, or 117a and 117c, and the bottom branch 19, not shown in the accompanying figures.

Furthermore, the lateral walls 18a, 18b, 18c and 18d and the bottom

20 preferably have at least one layer for the external insulation of these interspaces, not shown in the accompanying figures.

The use of a snowplow 10, according to the invention, is as follows. Proceeding along a snow-covered road, the snowplow 10, by means of the snow blower 12, collects, in the body 13, the snow which is conveyed by the conveyor 14, which conveniently can be orientated.

When the snow has been collected in this manner, to unload it the operator actuates the heating means 15 of the body 13, which heat the side walls 18a and 18b and, preferably, also the front wall 18d and the rear wall 18b, as well as the bottom 20 of the body 13.

In this way, owing to the thermal effect, an easy separation of the snow from the heated heatable parts of the body 13 is achieved and hence an easy unloading by falling from the body 13 which is inclined by means of hydraulic pistons for tilting the body 13 or other equivalent means of tilting the body 13 with which the snowplow 10 is appropriately equipped. In practice it has been found that the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects by providing a snowplow that makes it possible to remove the snow from the road, transport it and unload it easily in pre- established locations.

Furthermore, a snowplow according to the invention is safe to use, particularly during the step of unloading snow which the snowplow has collected from the road; indeed, the snow to be unloaded, thanks to the heating of the body, easily separates therefrom without remaining packed inside while the body is inclined for unloading it.

Indeed, should the snow fail to be unloaded evenly from the body during its tilting, then the centre of gravity of the snowplow would dangerously rise, endangering the stability of the vehicle and thus risking its overturning.

Moreover, a snowplow according to the invention makes it possible to remove the snow from the road without obstructing normal vehicle traffic; indeed, such a vehicle, by means of the snow blower, collects the snow as it proceeds along the road, without the necessity of stopping or executing maneuvers which can obstruct the traffic of other vehicles travelling on the same road.

What is more, unlike known vehicles capable of gathering snow, such as vehicles equipped with a collection bucket, or known vehicles capable of transporting gathered snow, such as vehicles provided with loading bodies, a snowplow according to the invention combines the functionalities both of gathering and of transporting snow, advantaging the logistics costs of running a single vehicle according to the invention, compared to the logistics costs of a plurality of vehicles of the known type.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; moreover, all the details may be substituted by other, technically equivalent elements. In practice the materials employed, provided they are compatible with the specific use, and the dimensions and the contingent shapes, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. PD2010A000024 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, such reference signs have been inserted for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.